Four 1970s national record paintings of Ulsan industrial complex shown for first time

Four national record paintings depicting Ulsan's industrial scene in the 1970s have been unveiled, offering a rare visual chronicle of the city that led South Korea's industrialization after it was designated a special industrial zone in 1962.

The Ulsan Art Museum is presenting the works in its first exhibition hall from Thursday through Feb. 21 next year as part of a special exhibition titled "Industrial Dreams, Human Time." The show features 11 large-scale paintings in total — the four historical works alongside seven newly commissioned pieces by six contemporary artists.

"Petrochemical Industrial Complex" (1973) by the late Lim Jik-soon, known as the "painter of flowers and women," captures the area around Bugok-dong in Nam-gu where Korea Petro Chemical IND and other companies set up operations in the 1970s. "Hyundai Shipyard" (1973) by Park Deuk-soon depicts the dry dock used to build the earliest vessels at what is now HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.

"Hanyang Chemical Industry" (1975) by the late Park Hang-seop shows the early petrochemical factory before it was acquired by what is now Hanwha Solutions' chemicals division. "Samdo" (1975) by the late Lee Yong-hwan portrays a garment factory in Seobu-ri, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, where workers are shown sewing blue jeans and other clothing — a vivid historical record of the export-driven industrial labor of the era. All four works are size-300 canvases.

The museum also commissioned six contemporary artists to reimagine Ulsan's industry and the lives of the people who built it, viewed through the lens of 2026 — half a century on. Their seven large-scale paintings are displayed alongside the historical works.

Jeong Jae-ho's "Rest" depicts a ship that has returned to port for repairs. Placed beside Park Deuk-soon's "Hyundai Shipyard," the pairing invites comparison: where Park captured a city's anticipation as it began building ships, Jeong uses a vessel under repair to evoke the time it takes for a body, worn down by labor, to heal.

Kwon Se-jin's "Document" is a large-scale work measuring 5.4 meters wide by 3 meters tall, transferring onto hanji in ink photographs of the late Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung's shipyard-construction negotiations and the Pony automobile production line. In Lee Woo-seong's "We Go to Work Again Today," the expressions and gestures of workers heading to their jobs emerge one by one as the eye moves deeper into a golden crowd.

Bang Jeong-ah's "Had to Live I" and "Had to Live II" draw on oral accounts — one from a woman who moved from welding shifts straight into housework, another from a haenyeo diver who continued diving while pregnant. Park Gyeong-hyo's "Dancing with Whales" renders the sea as two worlds at once: the ocean where whales live and the waters where massive ships are built.