Jung-kwang or Junggwang (; January 4, 1935 – January 5, 2003) was a

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 ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, who became an artist known for his bizarre paintings and eccentric life style. He was born with the name Go Chang-ryul, and used that name until he became a monk at age 25. Because of his behavior, he was expelled from his

monastic order Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

in 1979. In the fall of 1977,

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Professor

Lewis Lancaster Lewis R. Lancaster (born 29 October 1932) is Professor Emeritus of Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, US, and has served as president and professor emeritus at University of the West since 1992. Early life Lancaster gra ...

accompanied Jung-kwang as they traveled through Korea, and published a book based on their trip. In 1979, he gave a demonstration to a high school art class, completing a painting in seconds. In 1980, Jung-kwang lectured at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. His work is included in collections of the

Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture"About"
Asian Art Museum website. ...

, the Asia Society Gallery (Rockfeller Foundation, New York), and The

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. He has authored several books. According to religion life author Vincent Biondo, Jung-kwang "described himself as a 'Buddhist mop,' which gets dirty itself, but makes everything it touches clean." Jung-kwang drank

makkeolli ''Makgeolli'' (), sometimes anglicized to makkoli (, ), is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment ...

, a Korean alcoholic beverage, and he also smoked. He was in poor health for about five years prior to his death on the day after his 68th birthday. He was cremated in

Yangsan Yangsan (; ) is a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Korea. It borders Ulsan to the northeast, Gijang-gun and Geumjeong District in Busan to the southeast, Gimhae to the southwest, and Miryang to the northwest. City Hall is located in Nam ...

, South Gyeongsang province, South Korea.

References

Korean Buddhists 20th-century South Korean male artists 1935 births 2003 deaths {{SouthKorea-artist-stub