An afternoon in Seoul with South Korean artist and illustrator Seungwon Hong reveals a remarkable talent whose distinctive work spans fashion, portraiture and more.
By David Mason.
Sartorial Painting No.327 David Mason
Credit: Seungwon Hong
We thought we knew Seungwon Hong.
For the past couple of years, the Seoul-based artist and illustrator has been creating a series of surprising images for us — portraits of both myself and Elliot, together with his own interpretations of some familiar characters and moments from the world of James Bond.
Until this week, however, we had never actually met.
Sartorial Painting No.353 Elliot Mason
Credit: Seungwon Hong
My wife and I were spending a few days in Seoul and had arranged to meet Seungwon during our stay. We knew that he was involved with Louis Vuitton's current installation, Visionary Journeys Seoul, so when he offered to arrange for us to visit the exhibition while he was working there, we happily accepted.
What we hadn't quite appreciated was what “involved” meant.
Seungwon had kindly arranged for us to be shown around privately, accompanied by a guide. As we made our way through the exhibition, it gradually became apparent that the young illustrator we had come to know through his work for us was rather more deeply embedded in this world than we had realised.
Admiring the art of Seungwon Hong at his workstation in the Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys installation at LV The Place Seoul.
Credit: The Transatlantic Journal
Part of the exhibition is devoted to personalisation. At his workstation, surrounded by brushes and paints, Seungwon hand-paints Louis Vuitton trunks and cases for individual customers — transforming perhaps the most recognisable luggage in the world into something entirely personal.
And then we encountered the tower.
The Louis Vuitton tower.
Credit: Louis Vuitton
Rising through the store is an extraordinary pyramid of Louis Vuitton trunks, individually painted with scenes and characters by Seungwon. We subsequently discovered that he hadn't merely been commissioned to paint it. His concept had won a design competition held to mark the transformation of the building into LV The Place Seoul.
The inspiration was chaekgado, the traditional Korean art of bookshelf painting. Each trunk becomes, in effect, a compartment in an enormous bookshelf — Louis Vuitton's culture of travel interpreted through a Korean artistic tradition.
From conception to completion, the project took almost a year.
It isn't for sale.
Well, not officially.
We were reliably — and rather quietly — informed that should somebody become sufficiently attached to it, something in the region of $1 million might persuade Louis Vuitton to part with it.
By this point, we realised that there was rather more to Seungwon Hong than we knew.
So we decided to ask him.
IN CONVERSATION WITH SEUNGWON HONG
You grew up in Seoul, spent five years at middle school in New Zealand, then went on to university in Tokyo. Which of those places had the greatest influence on you as an artist?
All three places played an important part in shaping who I am, but Tokyo was where my direction as an artist became clearer. While studying illustration there, I spent a great deal of time thinking about how to express the things I loved through a visual language of my own.
Seungwon during his student days in Tokyo (2009).
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Seoul is where my roots are, and New Zealand introduced me to a different culture; Tokyo taught me how to bring those experiences and tastes into my work. I am now based in Seoul, and the perspectives I gained in all three places continue to find their way into my paintings.
When did you decide that you wanted to become a professional illustrator?
I did not set out to become an illustrator. I had been drawing regularly since I was about ten, continuing to practise and experiment as I grew older. I had a vague sense that I would one day make a living through drawing, but I had not yet decided what form that would take.
The turning point came after I completed my service in the Republic of Korea Air Force. I was preparing a portfolio to apply for jobs at various companies and began exploring fashion illustration as part of that process. The more I painted people and styles I admired, the more absorbed I became.
Seungwon during military service: Military Police, 20th Fighter Wing, Republic of Korea Air Force (2012-2014).
Credit: Seungwon Hong
I was particularly drawn to the way fashion can reveal a person's individuality, attitude and way of life. That was when I realised I wanted to build my working life around it.
Your work has a very distinctive style. How would you describe it — and how did it develop?
I would describe it as a painterly interpretation of classic style. I have been influenced by the light, colour and brushwork of classical painting and Impressionism, and I bring those qualities into contemporary digital painting.
Seungwon at work: creating a digital painting backstage at Giorgio Armani headquarters during Milan Fashion Week as part of the Armani collaboration (2017).
Credit: Seungwon Hong
When painting a portrait, I pay as much attention to the atmosphere conveyed by someone's expression and posture as I do to their facial features or clothing. Through my ongoing “Sartorial Painting” series, I have developed a clearer sense of the people and styles that draw my attention. Over time, those tastes and ways of painting have grown into the style you see today.
How did your relationship with the world of fashion begin?
As I recall, my first professional fashion commission was for the Japanese menswear magazine MEN'S EX. I created the main artwork for a feature celebrating its 22nd anniversary, introducing 100 stylish people from around the world.
Seungwon Hong's first professional commission (2015). Click here to view the editorial artwork.
Credit: MEN'S EX
For me, fashion is both a subject to paint and a way of understanding people. I find it fascinating that the same suit can create an entirely different impression depending on who wears it and how.
An early portrait of American fashion consultant Nick Wooster (2016).
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Working with brands such as Armani and Scabal deepened my interest in the fabrics, cutting and craftsmanship behind the clothes. Those experiences continue to enrich my paintings.
Giorgio Armani was a great hero for both of us. You not only worked with the brand but also met the “king of Italian fashion” in person. What do you remember most about meeting him?
I worked on a live painting project for Giorgio Armani during Milan Fashion Week in 2017, and had the opportunity to meet Mr Armani backstage and present him with my artwork. It was my first work trip to Europe, so contributing to the creative world of a designer I had admired for so long was already something very special.
Giorgio Armani by Seungwon Hong (2017). Click here to view the Giorgio Armani portfolio.
Credit: Seungwon Hong
What has stayed with me most is the firmness and warmth in his eyes. Our meeting was brief, but it brought home to me that behind the brand I admired was a person who had remained true to his own aesthetic for so many years.
The Seungwon Hong Giorgio Armani Project official video (2017).
Credit: Giorgio Armani
The Giorgio Armani Project remains one of the most memorable moments of my career.
You are currently hand-painting customers' trunks and cases as part of Visionary Journeys at Louis Vuitton in Seoul. What is it like painting directly onto a Louis Vuitton case for a customer? Does knowing there is only one chance to get it right change the way you work?
I see it as adding a customer's personal story to the long history of the house. These pieces mean a great deal to their owners and will accompany them for many years, so there is always a degree of pressure, alongside a strong sense of responsibility.
Customers oversee the personalisation of their precious cases.
Credit: Louis Vuitton
That makes preparation before the first brushstroke especially important. I take time to understand the customer's wishes, agree on a design and colours suited to the piece, and then work carefully through the stages of painting in layers, drying and finishing.
The remarkable hand-painted detail of a Louis Vuitton case personalised by Seungwon Hong.
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Honouring the trust the customer has placed in me is just as important as creating a beautiful painting.
Elsewhere in the installation is a pyramid of Louis Vuitton cases painted by you and now on permanent display. How did that project come about, what was involved — and how long did it take to complete?
The Louis Vuitton store at Shinsegae's main branch expanded from its original ground-floor space into LV The Place Seoul, occupying all six floors of the building. A tower design competition was held to mark the transformation, and my chaekgado concept was selected.
A closer inspection of Seungwon Hong's Louis Vuitton chaekgado concept.
Credit: The Transatlantic Journal
I wanted to bring together chaekgado — the Korean tradition of bookshelf painting — with Louis Vuitton's travel culture and heritage. I imagined each stacked trunk as a compartment in a bookshelf, incorporating small scenes and objects, such as Vivienne reading a book and a globe. From a distance, the work reads as a single tower; as you move closer, you begin to discover the individual stories within it.
First produced around the second half of the eighteenth century, chaekgado (literally, pictures of bookshelves) flourished throughout the 1800s and became a popular furnishing item amongst the aristocracy.
Credit: Heritage Images
I was involved throughout the project, overseeing the work from design through to painting and collaborating with the team to complete it in time for the store opening. The entire process, including design and painting, took almost a year.
The LV Chaekgado Tower
Credit: Louis Vuitton
Connecting a Korean perspective with the world of Louis Vuitton through my own artwork made it a particularly meaningful project.
You have now painted several interpretations of James Bond. Were you a fan of 007 before you became an illustrator? And perhaps you could tell us who your favourite Bond actor is — and which of your Bond illustrations is your favourite?
Yes. I became a fan when I happened to catch a Bond film on television shortly after starting primary school. The beautiful suits, striking locations and exciting action scenes made a strong impression on me. I cannot remember the title, but I believe it starred Roger Moore. Later, I made a point of seeing Pierce Brosnan's Bond films at the cinema as they were released.
Sartorial Painting No.343 Pierce Brosnan
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Daniel Craig is my favourite, and the actor who drew me most deeply into Bond's world. His Bond is tough, yet carries very human vulnerabilities and inner conflicts. There is a raw realism in the way he uses his judgement and physical ability to overcome danger, and I find the contrast between the roughness of the action and the precision of the tailoring visually compelling.
The tailoring itself is also remarkable, from Brioni in Casino Royale to Tom Ford in the later films. I love how details such as suits and watches help express the character and the situation he is in. Casino Royale, in particular, captures what I find so appealing about Bond: grounded action, psychological tension and the elegance of classic menswear.
Portrait of Daniel Craig selected as a finalist in the No Time To Die art competition (2020). Click here to view the No Time To Die portfolio.
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Of my own Bond illustrations, the one I feel most attached to is the piece selected as a finalist in the official No Time to Die fan art competition in 2020. I feel it captures, in my own way, the emotions the Bond films evoke in me and the atmosphere surrounding the character.
It also holds a special meaning because it connected my work with a film series I had loved for so long.
What would be your dream commission?
I would love to create an official series of artworks exploring the world of James Bond. It would be wonderful to bring together portraits, tailoring, cars, architecture and locations through my own visual interpretation. That would combine my interests in fashion, film, travel and craftsmanship in a single project.
Roger Moore as 007 by Seungwon Hong
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Alongside commissioned work, another important ambition is to bring together 400 paintings from my personal “Sartorial Painting” series in an art book. I would like to collect the people and styles I have observed and painted over the years into a volume that could, in turn, inspire others.
Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised by that final answer.
James Bond was, after all, one of the reasons Seungwon Hong first came to our attention. Since then, we have had the pleasure of watching him interpret that world in his own distinctive way — alongside, as we discovered in Seoul, work for some of the greatest names in international fashion.
Sean Connery as James Bond by Seungwon Hong
Credit: Seungwon Hong
There are several Bond illustrations we haven't yet shown.
One will have to wait for another occasion. Another we're saving for something rather special next year.
But there is one we couldn't resist sharing now.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
Seungwon's interpretation of Sean Connery's Bond is unmistakable: Anthony Sinclair "Conduit Cut" suit, Las Vegas and the neon-lit decadence of 1971.
But it is equally unmistakably a Seungwon Hong.
Portrait of Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever.
Credit: Seungwon Hong
Perhaps that is what we came away from Seoul understanding rather better. Whether his canvas is a portrait, a film character or a Louis Vuitton trunk, Seungwon absorbs the subject into a visual language entirely his own.
We went to Seoul to meet an illustrator whose work we admired.
We came away admiring the man rather more.
He is not only our Seoul Man... he's a real diamond.