Year of the Horse: The Driving Energy of Kim Ki-chang’s 'Gunnma-do'
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
In an art essay reflecting on Kim Ki-chang’s 1955 four-panel painting Gunnma-do (群馬圖, 'herd of horses'), the writer describes the painting’s raw energy: six horses with raised necks and twisting bodies surge forward in a circular tangle. Painted after the Korean War on a five-meter-wide screen, the work captures collective momentum—survival through shared force rather than individual resolve. Kim saw horses as clean, clever, brave: quick to rage yet gentle when calm. The painting translates human emotion into motion, showing heads pointing every which way but never stopping. The essay urges readers to start 2026 like these horses—abandon perfect plans and decisive resolutions, trust momentum and the push of others, and take a first step without always asking why. It frames 'running without reason' as a way to overcome fear of short-lived resolutions (작심삼일).
