Everyone Knows Lee Jung-seop's Bull Paintings — But This Seogwipo Alley Holds His Sorrow
and the place he briefly called home
Walking through downtown Seogwipo, you'll likely come across a road called 'Lee Jung-seop-ro' without much effort. First-timers might assume it's just a pretty street name and walk right past it, but this street is said to be named after Lee Jung-seop, one of Korea's most celebrated painters. Once you learn how this painter, famous for his bull paintings, ended up in Seogwipo, Jeju, and why his traces are said to still remain in this alley, the street starts to look a little different. Today GYULI wants to carefully walk you through the story of Lee Jung-seop Street and the painter's time on Jeju.
The Korean War, Refuge, and Painter Lee Jung-seop in Seogwipo
Lee Jung-seop is said to be widely known for his bull paintings, drawn in bold, thick lines. Said to hail from South Pyongan Province, he is said to have fled south with his family when the Korean War broke out, and somewhere along that journey he is said to have made his way to Seogwipo, Jeju, where he stayed for a time. Exactly when he arrived, when he left, or how long that stay lasted is something I'd rather not state definitively here. But the fact that a painter once took shelter in this small island town during such a chaotic wartime period is a story that seems to have been passed down across Seogwipo for a long time.
I can't confidently give you exact dates or specific episodes, but the story that a painter who walked away from war never put down his brush in this small neighborhood has stayed with me for a long time.
— 🍊 GYULIThe area near where Lee Jung-seop is said to have briefly stayed is said to have been shaped into today's Lee Jung-seop Street in Seogwipo. Walking along the narrow alley, you'll find galleries and small cafes lined up, and here and there you may notice sculptures or murals inspired by his paintings, or so it's said. It's said to feel less like a flashy tourist spot and more like a neighborhood quietly trying to remember an artist who once passed through. Knowing that this single street name carries a brief but special connection between Jeju and a painter makes even just walking through it feel a little solemn.
Walking Lee Jung-seop Street Today
Inside the alley of Lee Jung-seop Street, a small room said to be where the painter stayed during his time as a war refugee is said to have been modestly restored. It's not a grand or elaborate space, but knowing that he is said to have poured the longing of being separated from his family, even in that one small room, into his paintings, it's hard not to imagine what he must have been feeling then. Nearby is the Lee Jung-seop Art Museum, said to stand close to the street, where visitors can reportedly view his works alongside the story of his life. I can't say for certain exactly how the exhibits are organized or what pieces are held there, but it's consistently said across various records to be a place where you can take a slow look at both his style and his life in one spot.
Among the works Lee Jung-seop is said to have painted during his time in Seogwipo is reportedly a landscape depicting Seopseom, the small island floating just off the Seogwipo coast. Every time I hear that the scenery in that painting resembles the sea view from near Lee Jung-seop Street today, I find myself imagining the painter once standing somewhere in this alley, looking out at that same sea. Of course, exactly where or in what state of mind that painting was made isn't something I can confirm. But the fact that a painter's time, spent never putting down his brush even on an unfamiliar island, still remains today in a single street name genuinely moves me.
A Journey Beyond the Tourist Spot, Walking an Artist's Traces
When planning a Jeju trip, Lee Jung-seop Street is often introduced simply as 'a pretty alley in downtown Seogwipo.' But once you know that this street name also carries the pain of a wartime era, and the story of a painter who never put down his brush even through it, your steps there might feel a little different. Rather than rushing through as just another photo spot, I hope it becomes a slow walk where you quietly reflect on the story held in that one name. If you have the time, GYULI recommends walking along Lee Jung-seop Street and carefully picturing the traces of the artist who once passed through here.
GYULI's Tip · Lee Jung-seop Street is in downtown Seogwipo and is said to be easy to explore on foot. The nearby Lee Jung-seop Art Museum may have its own regular closing days or visiting hours, so it's a good idea to check the schedule before you go.