Connecting Korea & Germany through Art

KOREA TIMES
By Kwon Mee-yoo

KOREA - Maya Stiller, a visiting German researcher on Korean art, praised the natural elegance and practicality of Korean design, saying it is gaining more interest in Germany, as interest in Koreanology heightens. “Chinese art strives for perfection, while Japanese tends to be decorative. However, Korean art has a balance between practicality and refinement,” the researcher said. She became interested in Buddhist culture studying philosophy in high school. She studied at Freie Universitat Berlin and earned her doctoral degree in Korean art, specifically “goseungjinyeong,” or Buddhist monks’ portraits. “I am interested in the interregional influence of Asian art. A common narration is that China affected Korean art and Korea did to Japan. However, things could go back and forth, influencing each other,” she said. “People ask me why I study Korea and I have to know the difference with other Asian countries to answer that question. [link]