K-Event Review: Sathya Ganapathi’s Exclusive Minhwa Art Workshop In Chennai

Writer: Sathya Ganapathi (Chennai, Tamil Nadu), Jiya Gupta (Delhi)

Editor: Pooja Vishwanathan (Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh)

Korean art has a long and vibrant history, deeply rooted in tradition, spirituality, and everyday life. From the intricate paintings of the Joseon dynasty to the delicate craft of Hanji papermaking, traditional Korean art is a reflection of harmony and balance. Among its many forms, Minhwa (민화), or Korean folk painting, stands out for its bold colors, quirky motifs, and symbolic depth.

Created by anonymous artists, Minhwa was often used to decorate homes, celebrate festivals, and convey wishes for prosperity, longevity, and happiness. It is mostly about coloring or copying the works of ancient artists. Primarily focused on nature, it essentially depicts the early Korean lifestyle. Minhwa colorfully represents the perspectives, religions, symbols of daily life and desires, and folk mythologies of its time. It featured robust animals as supernatural, such as tigers, dragons, insects, and cranes, and featured colorful natural backgrounds with peonies, clouds, lotuses, water, or the sun.

It generally originated from the artist Soon-jin Park. The familiar waterfalls, vivid flowers and delicate animals take her back to her childhood when every home visited had these paintings on the walls. So, when she landed in Chennai and picked up her brush, her traditional ‘hanji’ canvas was colored with Indian elements. It was her way of bringing her two worlds together.

Spreading The Joy of Minhwa Through Workshop

Considering this fact about Minhwa art, a talented Chennai artist, Sathya Ganapathi, took the initiative to conduct a workshop on 8^th March at the Milky Way Art Gallery, Chennai, and spread the word about this art. She shared her experience about how she came to know about the art form.

Although she studied fine arts, it wasn’t until she encountered Minhwa, Korean folk art, that she considered it as her medium of art. Her journey began in 2016 when she received a traditional Chinese calligraphy set as a gift, which led her to explore Korean calligraphy and Minhwa under teacher Park Soon-jin’s guidance at the InKo Centre in Chennai. Initially drawn to Korean calligraphy, she soon shifted to Minhwa, captivated by its vibrant colors, deep symbolism, and the beauty of Hanji paper. Painting became a form of therapy—an opportunity to disconnect from worldly distractions and reconnect with her inner longing. 

To share what she had received, she started conducting workshops and regular sessions. The first step of this journey began on International Women’s Day on 8th March, with the support of her best friend, Aishwarya, and her family. It was a three-hour workshop where participants painted Hwajodo (flowers and butterflies) on MDF coasters. Preparing for the workshop, she experimented with the MDF material and was thrilled with the results. Watching each participant create their unique design was rewarding, and they lost track of time, enjoying Boricha (Korean barley tea) and goguma ppang (sweet potato loaf), with K-pop piano music playing in the background.

Participant Experiences

Sathya shared that the participants were very enthusiastic throughout the workshop and were very excited to know about Minhwa art. Here are some experiences shared by them.

It was a lovely session. Quite therapeutic in nature, each stroke and the color gradation was calming to my eyes and so to the mind. Indeed relaxed the body posture in my case. it is enthralling to add depth and value to the painting. minimal action of brush strokes brings so much beauty to the painting. The step-by-step growth of the painting was fascinating. Thank you Sathya for being a kind and tolerant educator.

– Archana Parthasarathy

It was very nice, to learn minhwa painting,I enjoyed and had a good time from the first step to the last step. I like to paint in my favorite colors pink and purple.

– Pavitra Anand

What better way to spend International Women’s Day than learning a new form of art? It was a wonderful experience learning the traditional Korean Minhwa painting from Sathya. Very patiently she taught us the techniques of creating shadows and color transitions. And here we created a beautiful Minhwa coaster from a blank circular MDF board, Thank you for a joyful creative day.

– Luna Bose

Had heard about Minhwa art but never tried it. Under the expert guidance of Sathya I got to learn this art. It was very interesting, especially the thin black lines with a very fine brush. Sathya is an honest and very patient teacher. I found the art very colorful and interesting. It does require a lot of patience for sure. But the result is lovely.

– Prerana Mehta

Thank you so much for organizing the Minhwa art workshop. We had a wonderful time learning about this beautiful traditional art form and creating my coaster. The guidance and enthusiasm made the experience even more enjoyable. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to participate. I found the workshop to be well-paced and informative. You explained the techniques and concepts clearly, making it easy to follow along. I really appreciated the variety of materials and colors available. It allowed me to experiment and find my own personal style. I’m so proud of my finished coaster! I will treasure it as a reminder of this special experience. I have just been introduced to art, I want to learn in-depth and practice the techniques to do it on the rice paper that was shown.

– Archana & Vijay

Looking Ahead

Sathya stated that this is just the beginning of her journey in sharing minhwa art with others and she is excited to continue hosting regular Minhwa sessions and K-Art workshops across different cities, helping more people experience the beauty, culture, and therapeutic benefits of this traditional Korean art form, helping them relieve their daily stress with the help of art as art has the power to bridge cultures, tell stories, and bring people together. Through Minhwa, she hopes to not only preserve this cherished folk tradition but also inspire others to embrace creativity as a means of expression and healing. It doesn’t matter if you are an artist or not; this simple process can be very effective and therapeutic to your brain and can help you relieve stress.

Each Minhwa painting tells a story, not just of the artist but of the hopes, dreams, and emotions embedded within it. As we continue on this path, we look forward to learning, evolving, and sharing more of this beautiful art form. Their goal is to create a space where art and tradition meet, where people can come together, paint their own stories, and find solace in the colors and brushstrokes of Minhwa.

May this journey of art and culture continue to grow, touching the hearts of many people.

Thanks to Mr. Kalaiselvan, Artist for the space (Milky Way Art Gallery); Mr. Sanjay Ramji for sharing this workshop in the K-wave community and Ms. Riya Choudhary for connecting me with the Hallyuism team.

– Ms. Sathya Ganapathi

Have you attended any similar art workshops like this? Tell us about your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!