A life in music.
A spirit in every stroke.
Woo-won Jo Jong-seop · Calligraphy, music and the pleasure of art
Art as a lifelong companion
For Woowon, calligraphy and music are lasting companions. The strength and softness of a brushstroke echo the movement of sound. Drawing on his 2010 interview, this portrait traces a life enriched by listening, learning and creating.
It began with a gramophone
Growing up in Hadong, he heard pansori on his father’s gramophone. Pop music accompanied his school years; classical music became a passion after he moved to Seoul for university. He wrote down titles heard on the radio and sought out the recordings.
“I have continued to pursue the enjoyment of music,
and it has remained my companion.”
Woo-won Jo Jong-seop · From the 2010 interview, translated
From judo to the brush
He drew as a child, trained in judo and became an instructor. In the late 1980s, studying calligraphy in Busan opened a new path. The perseverance of sport and the calm he found in music became companions to his artistic practice.
Growing beyond calligraphy
He valued what music, philosophy and travel could bring to his practice. In the interview, he described string quartets and piano trios as companions while working. His reflections return to a freedom of expression beyond technique.
A room devoted to listening
Records, books and audio equipment share the room. For Woowon, the experience of music mattered beyond the equipment itself. These photographs document the system at the time of the 2010 interview.
Archive: Monthly Audio, Johnny Lee, 1 March 2010. Adapted for WOOWON from the supplied interview and photographs.
Recognition for the art
of seal script
Jo Jong-seop received the Top Excellence Award, the Minister of Unification Award, at the 4th Korea Unification Calligraphy Competition for Gyeongheo Seonsaengsi (鏡虛先生詩), written in seal script. The award-winning work was exhibited at the Sejong Center in Seoul.
Busan Ilbo also reported his studies at Sungkyunkwan University’s graduate school of Confucian studies and distinctions in student art, arts and culture, and calligraphy exhibitions—a record spanning scholarship, art and physical discipline.
Source: Busan Ilbo, Park Young-kyung · Report on Jo Jong-seop’s calligraphy awardWOOWON
Gallery Guide · A Welcome from Our Director
