Sep 21, 2015  •  In Art/Design, Christianity, Korean

If Jesus Had Been Korean

During the Korean War, Korean artist Woonbo Kim Ki-chang began a series of ink paintings depicting the life of Jesus using his own country as the backdrop. “I was praying for the quick end of the Korean War and a unified peace, and soothed my painful mind with a paintbrush,” he later said.

Kim passed away in 2001, but his work was featured at a museum in Seoul in 2013. The paintings are by no means historically or Biblically accurate, but are meant to symbolize the fact that Jesus came for all cultures and ethnicities. Some have called these painting “shameless,” but I love the transcultural depiction of God in them. What do you think?

The Annunciation:
if_jesus_was_korean_annunciation

The Nativity:
if_jesus_was_korean_nativity

The Adoration of the Magi:
if_jesus_was_korean_magi

The Flight to Egypt:
if_jesus_was_korean_egypt

The Baptism of Jesus:
if_jesus_was_korean_baptism

Jesus Calls His First Disciples:
if_jesus_was_korean_disciples

The Feeding of the 5000:
if_jesus_was_korean_feeding

Jesus Walks on Water:
if_jesus_was_korean_water

Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery:
if_jesus_was_korean_woman_adultery

Woman Washes Jesus’ Feet With Her Tears:
if_jesus_was_korean_woman_tears

Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem:
if_jesus_was_korean_jerusalem

Jesus’ Agony in the Garden of Gethsemene:
if_jesus_was_korean_gethsemene

The Last Supper:
if_jesus_was_korean_last_supper

Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate:
if_jesus_was_korean_pilate

Jesus is Scourged at the Pillar:
if_jesus_was_korean_pillar

Jesus Carries His Cross:
if_jesus_was_korean_cross

The Crucifixion:
if_jesus_was_korean_crucifixion

Jesus’ Body is Taken to the Tomb:
if_jesus_was_korean_tomb

The Resurrection:
if_jesus_was_korean_resurrection

The Ascension:
if_jesus_was_korean_ascension

Via ChurchPOP.

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2 Responses to “If Jesus Had Been Korean”

  1. I think they’re beautiful. This is what the incarnation is all about- Christ’s coming to us in a form we can comprehend.

  2. JAMES O'NEAL says:

    These paintings are magnificent. I spent almost seven years in Korea with the US Army. I truly love Korea and the wonderful Korean people. God bless them!

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