Design in Korea: Week 9

Japanese Statistical Infographics

Location: Arirang Literature Village in Gimje

아리랑 Village is based off a novel written in 1996 which relays the brutal experiences of Koreans in Japanese-occupied areas. The museum area displays many important documents, personal journals, and infographics like these produced at that time. These posters were meant to glorify the growth and achievements of the new Chosun military administration while deliberately excluding the oppressive actions of the government in the early 1900's.

These posters display the stylistic basis for the Art Nouveau movement in France around the same time. "Japonism" - the study of Japan and it's application to art - swept across Europe in many forms including pottery, interior design, and graphic communication. Here in these posters, you see the thicker dark outlines that result from the technique of Japanese woodblock printing along with the wash of saturated colors, which were both adopted by the Art Nouveau period painters.