O Sech'ang
O Sech'ang, art name Wich'ang, was a Korean politician, politician, writer, calligrapher-painter, and Korean independence activist.
He is known for his writings on Korean calligraphy-paintings and epigraphy, such as Geunyeok seohwi and Geunyeok insu, Geunyeok seohwajing, an encyclopaedia of Korean art history, as well as his active engagement in journalism, art, and politics.
Early life
O Sech'ang was born into the chungin class as the eldest son of O Kyŏngsŏk, interpreter of Chinese and collector of calligraphy and paintings. He came from a wealthy family with eight generations of translator-interpreters, and benefited from access to the family's collection of rare books, paintings, and metal and stone rubbings, as well as a progressive atmosphere in gaining new knowledge at the end of the nineteenth century, as Joseon began to open its ports and undergo socio-political movements of modernisation and reformation. Influenced by his father's receptiveness to modernity, he was involved in many different areas of reformation during the late Joseon and Korean Empire period.Early career in government
At the age of 16, O Sech'ang passed the civil service examination in Chinese translation and interpretation. After beginning a government career at the Office of Culture and Information, he gradually took on higher roles in government including the Ministry of Defence, Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry, and the Postal Office.Due to his close association with members of the Reform Party such as Kim Okkyun, Pak Yŏnghyo, and Yu Kilchun, he was arrested for the involvement in the 1884 Kapsin Coup, but was released without charges. In 1895, he briefly fled to Japan for suspected involvement in the assassination of Empress Myeongseong. In 1897, he taught the Korean language for a year at the Tokyo College of Commerce at the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Education. After briefly returning to Korea and participating in the Independence Club, he fled to Japan once more in 1902 for his involvement in Yu Kilchun's Ilsimhoe, a pro-revolution group composed of military officer students that studied in Japan.
O Sech'ang returned to Korea once again in 1906, after which he worked outside the government.
After annexation, he became a leading figure in the independence movement and was incarcerated for 3 years for his role as one of the 33 leaders of the March First Movement in 1919.
Career in media
Although O Sech'ang started his professional career as a translator-interpreter, in 1880, he started to work at the Office of Culture and Information and was involved with the publishing of a weekly government gazette, Hansŏng jubo, from 1886. After returning to Korea from Japan in 1906, he worked as president of newspapers Mansebo and . His career in media was cut short when Japanese authorities imposed aggressive censorship of Korean press and gradually abolished most Korean newspapers from the signing of the 1905 Eulsa Treaty, the Publication Law in 1907, and annexation in 1910.Career in arts
Colonial period
Besides his career in government and media, O Sech'ang was also a prominent leader in the creative arts. As an avid collector of paintings and calligraphy, as well as a talented painter-calligrapher himself, he co-founded the first modern artists' association, Seohwa Hyeophoe with celebrated artists such as An Chungsik,, and in 1918. Seohwa Hyeophoe played a major role in the fostering of Korean artists and modern exhibition culture in the early twentieth century, and hosted an annual exhibition, Seohwa hyeophoejeon from 1921 to 1936. Hyeopjeon was the only competing exhibition to the prestigious annual Chōsen Art Exhibition hosted by the Japanese Government-General from 1922 to 1944, but was eventually overshadowed by Seonjeon. Like many members of Seohwa hyeophoe, O Sech'ang himself submitted calligraphy in seal-script in the first Seonjeon in 1922 and was awarded the 2nd place prize, but from 1923, he refused to participate in Seonjeon and submitted works in Hyeopjeon instead.During most of the colonial period, he withdrew from political activities, and worked on his publications and other artistic endeavours. In his lifetime, he completed several important literatures on Korean paintings and calligraphy.
Important examples of his works include Geunyeok seohwi, a collection of calligraphy by Goryeo and Joseon literati scholars, and Geunyeok hwahwi, a catalogue of 67 paintings, organised by subject matters. O Sech'ang also compiled a catalogue of 3,912 seals used by Joseon scholars and painter-calligraphers, titled Geunyeok insu.
O Sech'ang's most notable contribution to the development of modern Korean art history was the compilation of 3 volumes of Geunyeok seohwasa in 1917 and its mass print of the publication by the Enlightenment Club led by Ch'oe Namsŏn as Geunyeok seohwajing in 1928. The book chronologically addressed the comprehensive history of Korean art from the Silla period to the colonial period and listed and recorded the activities and works of 1,117 painters and calligraphers. It is widely recognised as the first encyclopaedia of Korean art written by a Korean scholar, which shaped the foundations of the field of Korean art history in the post-war period.