Na Hye-sok

An early woman painter and writer in modern Korea. She studied Western painting in Tokyo and traveled through Europe and the United States from 1927 to 1929, studying art in Paris and recording the experience in writing and art.

A place in Korean culture

Na Hye-sok is a major figure for understanding both modern Korean art and women’s history. Her paintings and writing preserve a rare personal view of social change in 1920s and 1930s Korea.

What else to know

She continues to be read because she recorded what she saw and felt in her own voice, refusing to give up her perspective despite the constraints of her era.

The story behind it

Today’s Dear Now uses World Tourism Day to revisit how Na Hye-sok looked beyond landmarks in Paris and paid attention to people and everyday life.

Sources & context

2026-09-30

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture ↗Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain ↗