Chunhwa () is a term referring to the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

erotic art tradition, mainly during the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

era.

History

According to ''Maeyanghanrok'', written by Park Yang Han during the reign of King Yongjo, the tradition was first imported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the form of an ivory sculpture. But considering the time period, it is also speculated that the tradition can be traced back to the late

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

period during an interchange with the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

. The tradition flourished when many novels from the

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties were imported, which caused a boom of interest in sexual subjects. However, compared to the traditions of

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in Woodcut, woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word '' ...

of Japan and

Chungongtu ''Chungongtu'' (春宮圖, lit. spring palace illustration or spring palace picture), also known as ''chungonghua'' (春宮畵) or ''chungongmihua'' (春宮密畵) is a generic term for the traditional erotic art in China.The humor and technology o ...

of China, it did not become as mainstream due to the country's strong

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

values. Most of the examples found were done by anonymous artists, and the depictions were not as explicit as other East Asian counterparts. The tradition was also influenced by the style of Pungsokhwa, the tradition of genre paintings in Korea depicting the everyday life of people. The tradition partly inspired the works of 20th century Korean painters.

Examples and attributions

A known examples of a series of Chunhwa was the "Un u do chop" attributed to the painter

Gim Hongdo Kim Hong-do (, 1745–) was a Korean painter during the Joseon dynasty. He is mostly remembered for his depictions of the everyday life of ordinary people, in a manner analogous to painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He was also widely known by h ...

and "Gongonilhoedochop" attributed to the painter

Sin Yun-bok Sin Yun-bok (; 1758–1813), better known by his art name Hyewon, was a Korean painter of the Joseon period. Like his contemporaries Danwon and Geungjae, he is known for his realistic depictions of daily life in his time. His genre paintings ...

. However, some are thought to be fake attributions to famous painters to raise the price of paintings.

References

Korean painting Erotic art Sexuality in Korea {{Korea-stub