Gwangju Hwaru

Gwangju Hwaru is one of the cultural projects that Kwangju Bank has established in order for the advancement of Korean painting.
'Hwaru' is a term with origins. While Chusa Kim Jeong-hui (金正喜, 1786 ~ 1856) was staying in Yongsan, Seoul after returning from exile at Jeju Island, his disciples gathered to compete their talent for calligraphy and paintings and received the praises from Kim.
At this time, the name of the painter group was Hoe-ru(繪壘), and the scholar group was Mook-jin(墨陣).

Gwangju Hwaru is a name made by replacing 'Hoe' from Hoe-ru with 'Hwa(畵)' accentuating the meaning of picture. Gwangju Hwaru aims to succeed in the spirit of Hoeru in which artists competed only with picture.
Through this, we would like to become a ‘ru(壘, backbone)’ that supports Korean painting of our time.
Gwangju Hwaru supports young artists' challenges for the future of Hangukhwa.