The year he turned 23, he was selected for the National Art Exhibition of Korea (Kukjeon).
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 25, he held a four-person show at Dongbang Cultural Hall in Myeongdong, Seoul, and issued an anti-Kukjeon declaration. Dong-A Ilbo writes that this declaration made his name known in the art world.
In 1957, he showed Painting No. 1. In 1961, he was invited to the Paris congress of young painters of the world as Korea’s representative. In 1962, he showed Primordialis in a solo show and became an assistant professor at Hongik University. In 1965, he took part in the São Paulo Biennial. In 1967, he began the Écriture series, drawing lines in pencil.
In 1970, he submitted Void Space to the Korean pavilion at the Osaka World Expo. In 1973, he presented Écriture at Muramatsu Gallery in Tokyo. In 1975, he took part in the five-artist Dansaekhwa show at Tokyo Gallery. In 1977, he became chairman of the Korean Fine Arts Association.
In 1982, he used hanji as a material for the first time. In 1984, he received the Order of Civil Merit, Seongnyu Medal. In 1986, he became dean of the College of Fine Arts at Hongik University. In 1988, he took part in a special show at the Venice Biennale. In 1991, he held a retrospective at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. In 1994, he received the Jade Crown Order of Cultural Merit and founded the Seo-bo Art and Cultural Foundation.
In 2006, one of his Écriture works was chosen as the cover of a U.S. art publication. In 2007, he held a solo show at the Gyeonggi Museum of Art. In 2008, he held his first solo show in New York. In 2009, the U.S. publisher Assouline published a monograph of his work. In 2010, shows continued at Kukje Gallery and the Busan Museum of Art. In 2011, he received the Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit.
In 2014, he held a solo show at Perrotin Gallery. In 2015, he showed work in the Dansaekhwa show at the Venice Biennale. In 2016, he held a solo show at White Cube in London, which Korea Economic Daily writes was the first there by a Korean. In 2017, a white Écriture sold at Christie’s Hong Kong for 1.4713 billion won. In 2018, he was selected as an honoree of the Asia Game Changer Awards. In 2019, he held a retrospective at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
In 2021, he received the Gold Crown Order of Cultural Merit and Louis Vuitton released a handbag using his work. In 2022, he ranked third in total auction sales by artist in Korea. In 2023, he disclosed his stage 3 lung cancer himself and died on Oct. 14.
In January of the year after his death, his last series, Newspaper Écriture, was shown for the first time in New York. In September 2025, the Park Seo-bo Foundation published an autobiography and a comic biography. In August 2026, the Park Seo-bo Museum opened in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul.
Park Seo-bo (born Nov 15, 1931) was selected for Kukjeon in 1954, the year he turned 23, and became known in the art world in 1956, the year he turned 25, when he issued the anti-Kukjeon declaration at a four-person show. He began the Écriture series in 1967, the year he turned 36.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.