[Joseonggwan's Global Humanities Journey] History of Korea's Expo Participation Advocating for 'Busan' Hosting... Received Klimt Painting Award at Paris Expo

Korea Participated in the 1900 Paris Exposition
World's Oldest Metal Movable Type Book 'Jikji' Exhibited for the First Time
Gustav Klimt and Andy Warhol Also Featured

The competition to host the 2030 Expo is heating up. Is it Busan, South Korea, or Riyadh, Saudi Arabia? Busan initially struggled against Saudi Arabia's aggressive campaign backed by 'oil money,' but now it is said to be catching up rapidly. President Yoon Suk-yeol recently gave a presentation in Paris titled 'Gateway to Eurasia.' The gateway to Eurasia!

The Eiffel Tower was born at the 1889 Paris Expo. It was erected as the main tower to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Like other pavilions, the Eiffel Tower was built on the condition that it would be dismantled 20 years later.

The world's three major mega events are the FIFA World Cup, the Summer and Winter Olympics, and the Expo. Countries that have hosted all three mega events are true advanced nations in the real sense. However, the Summer and Winter Olympics do not seem to create stories that are talked about for a long time as much as expected. The events that have storytelling passed down from mouth to mouth over many years are the World Cup and the Expo.

Korea first participated in the World's Fair in 1893 at the Chicago Expo. The second was the 1900 Paris Expo. The 1900 Paris Expo, held around the Seine River including the Champs de Mars area, hosted 41 countries worldwide. Among them, Asia was represented by China, Japan, Siam (Thailand), and Joseon (Korea). The Ferris wheel, motion pictures, escalators, diesel engines, and telegraph phones were introduced for the first time at the Paris Expo. The conveniences of civilization that we take for granted in the 21st century first saw the light of day in Paris over 120 years ago. More than 48 million people visited the expo over seven months.

1900 Paris Expo Poster (left), 2030 Busan Expo Poster (right)

In 1900, Emperor Gojong was on the throne of the Korean Empire. How did Gojong, who was in the dark about international affairs, decide to participate in the Paris Expo? It was mainly due to the persuasion of Victor Colin de Plancy, the French charg? d'affaires to Korea, an outstanding diplomat.

Plancy spent all 30 years of his diplomatic career in China, Japan, and Joseon. Before being appointed as the French consul stationed in Joseon in 1896, he gained diplomatic experience in China and Japan. At that time, the diplomatic quarter in Hanyang was Jeongdong-gil. The British, American, German, French, and Russian legations were located on Jeongdong-gil. Koreans called France 'Beopguk' (法國) and Germany 'Deokguk' (德國). The French legation was located next to Ewha Girls' High School on Jeongdong-gil, where Changdeok Girls' Middle School now stands.

Plancy, who could read Chinese and Japanese and had deep knowledge of Eastern culture, was very interested in Joseon's bibliography. While collecting Joseon bibliographies, he was introduced to the 'Jikji' by a Korean. He purchased the 'Jikji' at a high price. He was the first foreigner to recognize the value of the 'Jikji.'

His insight did not stop there. He decided to exhibit the 'Jikji' at the 1900 Paris Expo. Together with Lee Beom-jin, the French ambassador to Korea, he worked hard to install a hanok (traditional Korean house) at the Paris Expo site to display the 'Jikji' and other Joseon crafts.

Out of the 48 million visitors to the 1900 Paris Expo, how many actually visited the Joseon pavilion? Only a very few people would have seen the world's oldest metal movable type book, the 'Jikji,' printed in 1377, in the hanok exhibition hall. The 'Jikji' was thus faintly introduced to the world at the 1900 Paris Expo.

Klimt Wins Grand Prix at Paris Expo

The 1900 Paris Expo was also an unforgettable World's Fair for Gustav Klimt (1862?1918). The greatest crisis in Klimt's artistic life was the Vienna University faculty painting scandal.

Vienna University was located behind St. Stephen's Cathedral in the old town inside the Ringstraße. However, as the number of students increased and lecture halls became insufficient, there was a growing need to move to a larger space. The university searched for a site and decided to build a new university building on a vacant lot where the fortress walls had been demolished.

In 1894, the Ministry of Education decided to commission faculty paintings for the new university auditorium for the faculties of Philosophy, Law, Medicine, and Theology. They commissioned the rising star painters Klimt and Franz Matsch. Gustav was to paint the Philosophy, Law, and Theology faculties, and Matsch was to paint the Theology faculty, and both received payment.

Gustav Klimt's "Philosophy Allegory," which won the grand prize at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Photo by Vienna Leopold Museum

Klimt first painted the 'Philosophy Allegory' and exhibited it at the Secession Hall in 1900. As soon as 'Philosophy' was unveiled, Viennese society was thrown into an uproar. The Ministry of Education, politicians, and the media all rose up simultaneously. "What kind of philosophy painting is that?" "Klimt has completely lost his mind."

The Ministry of Education had given Klimt the theme of 'the victory of light over darkness.' However, Klimt conceived the Philosophy Allegory with the theme of human birth and death. He expressed the cycle of human life and death in one painting: a newborn baby, a child, a muscular youth, a sensual nude... an emaciated old man tangled and flowing somewhere. At first glance, it looks grotesque and even repulsive. But if you look closely, Klimt's message can be read.

The reason the Ministry and the media criticized it was simple. They expected the 'Philosophy faculty painting' to depict Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. They probably expected Plato's dualism to be represented in the painting, given the theme 'the victory of light over darkness.'

Klimt thought differently. He believed that human philosophical thought originates from death. The genius Klimt accurately penetrated the essence of philosophy. But the mediocre minds trapped in the fixed ideas of Greek philosophy could not see this and freely despised the genius.

The 'Philosophy' painting that stirred Viennese society was submitted to the 1900 Paris Expo. The 'Philosophy' painting, which had been pounded by public opinion in Vienna, won the Grand Prix at the Paris Expo. There was that much of a gap between Paris and Vienna in art. The Grand Prix at the 1900 Paris Expo somewhat restored the painter's honor.

The subsequent 'Law' and 'Medicine' paintings repeated the same process. Vienna University ultimately refused to display Klimt's faculty paintings. Klimt returned the payment he had received from the Ministry of Education. After this incident, Klimt decided never to paint government-commissioned works again and not to deal with officials who did not understand art. Thereafter, Klimt shifted his focus to aristocratic portraits and landscapes.

Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Cans

In 1962, New York was at the dawn of a new art genre called Pop Art. Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg were gaining attention as leaders of Pop Art. Andy Warhol, from Pittsburgh, who was making a living in commercial art in New York, was drawn to this new art genre. What should he paint to be recognized in Pop Art?

At that time, a female curator from a fledgling gallery approached Warhol. The gallery needed to discover lesser-known artists. The curator suggested Warhol try painting banknotes or canned food. Warhol asked his mother Julia to buy canned goods. Julia bought 32 varieties of the best-selling Campbell Soup cans. Warhol began painting portraits of Campbell soup cans one by one. It was the moment a new chapter in Pop Art opened.

Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup exhibited at the 1900 Paris Expo. Photo by Wikipedia

Canned food, blue jeans, hamburgers, cola... icons symbolizing American culture. Canned food and blue jeans are closely linked to the Western frontier era. The representative canned food is Campbell Soup. In 1869, Joseph Campbell founded a tomato and vegetable processing and distribution company in Camden, New Jersey.

The turning point when Campbell Soup dominated the American canned food market was science and technology. An executive who studied chemistry at MIT and the University of G?ttingen in Germany developed innovative technology. Until then, the drawback of Campbell Soup was that the amount of water was too much compared to the contents. The moisture added weight to the can, hindering distribution. The chemist executive developed a method to reduce the amount of water in the can by half and condense the contents. This innovation revolutionized canned food manufacturing. Americans sought Campbell Soup cans morning and night.

This canned food also participated in the 1900 Paris Expo. European visitors showed as much interest in Campbell Soup cans as in diesel engines for automobiles. "Americans eat this every day," visitors curiously examined the cans and tasted them, looking at each other's faces.

Warhol was recognized as a Pop artist through Campbell Soup cans. At a press conference, a reporter asked:

-Why did you paint canned food portraits?

"Because I have eaten canned soup for lunch for 20 years."

Campbell Soup cans were the perfect subject for Pop Art.

If the 2030 Expo is held in Busan, what kind of cutting-edge products will astonish the world?

Seonggwan Jo Artist and Genius Researcher

Operator of 'Genius Table,' former editor-in-chief of Weekly Chosun

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.