first....?
never heard of her but her paintings are beautiful!

I love working with ink too. Just wish I wasn't so messy with it. Her work is beautiful though. She had definitely captured the feeling of early asian paintings wonderfully. Celebrities should take a hint from her and only switch professions when they are actually talented at something else.

@ eStEILe I'm not surprised you haven't heard of her, she literally disappeared after her marriage. However back in the 90's, she was really popular and in my opinion, a wonderful and talented actress. I really enjoyed some of her earlier movies like Christmas in August and Art Museum by the Zoo. You should see them for yourself.

Wow, for a 2 - 3 years of learning she sure is good. I feel ashamed lol. I love to draw but I haven't tried painting because I did once with watercolor and it turned out horrible. Hmmm, seeing how much effort she put into something she likes sparks my inner artistic values, even if a little...

:D

Oh wow, her technique looks really good.. I've recently started getting into that style of painting too, and it's a lot harder than it seems. I hope she continues to pursue it, even if she never does another exhibition..

Did she really learn only in 3 years o.o
She's AMAZING at drawing >.<

I can only water color, but I only know how to do skies and kites -.- I want to try ink painting XD

Hey at least she didn't flatly deny a comeback.....maybe when her kids get older? Who knows.... :D

i don't remember her dramas, but i do recognize her face a lot. i like her paintings though.

Still looking young and fresh even after all these years. So jealous.

@ Cathy
First off, I apologize for the ESSAY I wrote below…. but I must admit this is an issue near and dear to my heart xD

This idea of being their own country is an especially touchy topic for Koreans, for obvious reasons. Since you say you know something of Korean history, I'm sure you're aware of how Korea has been under constant invasion of China and Japan for centuries. This leads to two particularly profound consequences:

1.) Korea is geographically located smack between China and Japan. This, by sheer cause of location, has turned Korea into a channel of culture between China and Japan. Naturally, within this idea, all sorts of nuances come in. As a veritable middleground between two dominant Asian cultures, it's unquestionable that Korea received a heavy dose of influence from both. Korea's culture, nevermind just their paintings, is quite the mix of Chinese and Japanese culture (with a smidgen of something else I imagine). But does this unquestionable Chinese and Japanese influence make it so that Korea's culture simply a mixup of the previous two? Or is the simple act of combining them make it Korea's own? Or does that make Korea simply a blurry carbon copy of both? Simply by the consequence of having shared so many influences, it's - confusing, I suppose - but traces of China and Japan can often (if not always) be found in Korean work - but does that make it any less Korean? Or does that make it Chinese/Japanese? What then, can Koreans claim as their own? Who defines what has been "changed" or "adapted" enough to "be Korean?"

Being squished between two of the most influential countries in Asia puts Korea in a precarious spot both culturally and politically. Especially since Korea itself is so small, always on the verge of being engulfed. Where does Korea draw it's lines both geographically (a la Korean War) and more vexingly, culture? Since so many components of Korean culture are Chinese/Japanese – does the whole result in something unique, or not? How much really "belongs" to Korea? I don't know if these questions surprise you or not, but to be sure they are always on the mind Koreans because the answer to these questions are really avoiding the elephant in the room: Are Koreans people beholden to their own country or simply an rebel offshoot of China/Japan?

2.) Korea always been caught between China and Japan - like a "shrimp between two whales" history books often say. Most recently, under the Japanese Occupation less than 65 years ago. For decades Korea had literally lost its country to another - in name, in action, everything. A complete obliteration of the existence of Korea. Unsurprisingly, Japan often used the argument that Korea had "always been a part of Japan anyway" so this really wasn't an invasion at all. Sound familiar? Coincidentally, it's an argument China used often too.

The reverberations of the Occupation also explain why Korea is often accused of "claiming things as their own." If you just lost your country for decades and just recently got it back (literally), wouldn't you be eager to set yourself apart from two countries that have hankered after you for centuries, despite having to sift through, ironically, layers of culture brought in from the very people who attacked you? And to rub salt on the wound, you are met with accusations that Korean culture is nothing but a shadow of the countries that sought to conquer it? There’s a reason Korea is known for the often over-wrought nationalism – and this is why, I think.

Not to mention, Korea is not even united and the bigger half of Korea (North) is becoming more and more foreign as each day passes (btw, for those who don't know, Korea is still technically "at war" b/c no peace treaty was ever signed. Hence the DMZ and why you see celebs still going off for the mandatory two-year military req). People who survived the occupation still live and vividly remember what it was like to have their entire culture taken from them. Many of our parent's generation recall the post-war reconstruction. So is it at all surprising that Korea is eager to define themselves as a country, as a land who has their own art, music, language, etc? And whether what they claim is actually "Korean" or not - who gets to say? Where is the line between "influence" and "copying?" Are they really "taking" or being "influenced?" What IS Korean culture?

Anyway, obviously I have more questions than answers....but I hope that I shared my thoughts clearly (though obviously not concisely).

I had never heard of her either until I recently watched her monsterously popular 1994 series 'M' (which saw a viewers share of a whopping 52.2% during it's run!) on AZN TV. I tuned in to see one of my favorites actresses, Yang Jung Ah (who played the lead role of "Na Onim" in last year's daily drama, 'Here Comes Ajumma') and was immediatley struck by this alluring young lady who disappeared from the public eye to raise her children. Having just checked her bio on Dramawiki and finding her to be retired, it was a pleasent surprise to see her face turn up here at Dramabeans with recent information. I, for one, would like to see her return as a veteran actress as I'm certain that she still has much to offer. If she's anywhere near as capable as her former castmate from "M" (Yang Jung Ah), her re-entry into the fold will be a welcome one indeed.

@ cathy & sf

Cathy, nowhere in the article was the style of painting called "korean painting".
Sf, I was shocked to see your strange defense of Korea read more like an accusation of a lack of originality in Korean culture. From a historical standpoint, it was Japan, not Korea, which was continually fed from two other nations.

None of us here can claim credit for anything. writing, painting, modern hygiene and sanitation, language... we're all blessed to live in an era where no one needs to be innovative or brilliant to enjoy life.

Get off your high horse and realize that, just like how reading and writing in Latin was the basis of a cultured and learned European until the last century, ink painting and calligraphy was a given for an educated person in Asia.

It is interesting to see the discussion above. but I raise one question to the Koreans who constantly declare that China has invaded them -- if China has indeed invaded them, why does Korea exist in its present form, with its own languages and everything else now?

We all know that China basically assimilated every single tribe/small country in its immediate proximity, sometimes by force, but most of the time just because it was powerful enough to make others to want to be part of it. I respect that fact that Korea didn't want to be part of it -- even though they took on Chinese writing, Chinse traditional medicine, Chinese food, Chinese architecture, Chinese traditional holidays, they kept their own spoken language and always took pride in being Korean. They also evolved everything with a distinct Korean flavor -- but China never invaded Korea in any form. All they did was sending countless presents/wealth and army to help them defend the Japanese invasion (who was enclosed in an island and wanted more resources therefore invaded the mainland).

Anyway, I don't mind Koreans wanting to change their capital's Chinese name from "Han city" to "Shou-Er", I don't mind their major waterway being called "Han river", I don't mind Koreans claiming that ink paintings is "Korean style" and I don't even mind them claiming that the northeast of China belonged to them. but PLEASE, china never invaded Korea.

Alright, my comments probably sounds flamingly degrading. I don't mean it in that way. There are things that I love about Korea and there are things that I don't, that's all.

her paintings are wonderful.

She's still soo pretty. So different from the recent batch of actresses...with fake faces and boobs!!

i like so much shim eun ha sine i seen her acting in INTERVIEW korean movie with lee jung jae (1999)
i hope she can return back to entertiment