PARK Youngsook

PARK Youngsook (b. 1941) is a first-generation female photographer in South Korea who has played a significant role in the history of modern Korean photography and the feminist movement. PARK is known for her provocative portrait photography that emphasizes femininity, which has historically and socially been regarded as a target of exclusion and discomfort. By placing the female body at the forefront of her work, PARK challenges societal oppression, absurdities, and the sexual power structures surrounding women's bodies and identities. PARK is best known for her series Mad Women (1999), which subverts conventional ideas about women constrained by patriarchal social structures. Her work, which visualizes the female body, is a product of her feminist activism, reflecting her efforts to address women's gender roles and sexual identities. Building on this series, she developed various other projects such as Imprisoned Body, Wandering Spirit (2002), Project for Money Reformation (2003), and WOMAD, Goddess in the 21st Century (2004). She also explored gender issues and the cultural roles of Asian women, which were socially taboo at the time, in works like Lesbian Wedding (2003), Monsieur Butterfly (2003), and Feminists in Osaka and Tokyo (2004).

 

Born in Cheonan in 1941, PARK Youngsook graduated with a BA in History at Sookmyung Women's University and later acheived an MFA in Photography and Design at the same University's Graduate School. In 1975, she was invited to the Equality, Development, Peace exhibition organized by the Women's Association in celebration of the UN-designated "International Women's Year". Her photographic works, which focused on various women's realities and social issues, garnered attention. In the 1980s, as she entered her 40s, PARK solidified her identity as a feminist. PARK has exhibited her work at prominent domestic and international art museums, including the the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, the Gwangju Museum of Art, and Hanmi Museum of Photography. She also participated in the 2002 Gwangju Biennale. In 2006, she founded Trunk Gallery, which operated until 2019. In 2016, PARK's large-scale solo exhibition was held at ARARIO GALLERY CHEONAN. PARK's works are part of the collections of numerous institutions, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Hanmi Museum of Photography, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Sungkok Art Museum, National Human Rights Commission of Korea, Ewha Womans University, and Sookmyung Women's University.