Keimyung University Hengso Museum Special Exhibition:
Experiencing the Roots of K-Culture Through the Tiger and Magpie
Celebrating the university’s 126th anniversary, the exhibition “Animals and Humans” offered a cultural feast where tradition and modernity blend.
A unique experience where the tiger and magpie seen in Netflix’s “K-Pop Demon Hunters” meet traditional Korean folk painting (Minhwa).
“I saw the tiger and magpie in a Netflix animation, but seeing them in a real exhibition makes the stories in traditional minhwa feel like they’re coming alive right in front of my eyes.” Jessica Tomasullo (female, 25), an exchange student from Denmark, said this while viewing the special exhibition at Keimyung University’s Hengso Museum. At the moment when symbols from tradition meet modern popular culture and reveal new charms, visitors naturally turned their attention to the “roots of K-culture” and the cultural experiences offered by the university.
To celebrate the 126th anniversary, Keimyung University has opened a special exhibition titled “Animals and Humans,” which is designed to shed the light through a wide range of artworks on animals that have lived alongside people, and to newly interpret the symbolism and meanings embedded in those depictions.
The exhibition introduced around 90 works in total, including paintings, ceramics, and crafts from the Hengso Museum collection, as well as contemporary artworks by alumni artists from the College of Fine Arts. In particular, pieces combined with media-art video offer rich viewing experiences that connect tradition and the present, sparking visitors’ curiosity.
The work that first captures visitors’ attention was the folk painting “Magpie and Tiger.” The scene of a tiger, back arched upright, looking up at a magpie perched in a pine tree goes beyond a simple picture, conveying the lives, humor, and cultural resonance of ordinary people in the Joseon era whose resonance still feels alive today. In the painting, the tiger symbolizes a guardian that drives away evil spirits, while the magpie is an auspicious bird that brings good news.
The intriguing thing was how these traditional symbols continue to breathe in modern pop culture. The tiger and magpie characters in Netflix’s animation “K-Pop Demon Hunters (KDH)” reinterpret folk painting in a contemporary way, delivering both familiarity and mystery to audiences around the world. When the minhwa in the exhibition overlaps with the characters on screen, visitors can directly experience the connection between tradition and K-culture at Keimyung University’s gallery.
In addition, the exhibition presented diverse images of tigers across different eras, from the tiger in the Bangudae Petroglyphs to tiger-hunting paintings (Horeopdo), filial piety paintings (Hyohangdo), and contemporary works. A particularly rare and valuable artifact which seldom seen even in Korea, was an embroidered “Magpie and Tiger.” Kim Yunhee, director of the Hengso Museum, said, “Through the magpie and tiger works introduced in this exhibition, visitors will be able to see firsthand root where K-culture comes.”
Opened in 1978 at Daemyeong Campus and relocated to the Seongseo Campus in 2004, Keimyung University’s Hengso Museum has offered local residents broad cultural experiences through major exhibitions such as the British Museum Exhibition in Daegu, the Exhibition of Chinese National Treasures, and the Treasures of the Hungarian Habsburg Royal Family. The museum has established itself as a place that actively communicates with the community beyond the boundaries of the university through various programs, including the museum’s lecture series, hands-on programs for international students, and cultural heritage field trips.
In the second semester of the 2025 academic year, a special lecture series titled “History & Culture Academy (15th cohort)” was being held from Thursday, September 11 to Thursday, November 20 in the audiovisual room of the Hengso Museum Seongseo Campus. Under the theme “A Journey to Find Myself –Pilgrimage and Travel Cultures of the World–,” the course was a representative humanities program shared by the university and the local community.
This exhibition runs until Saturday, November 29. Visiting hours are Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the registration is free. For more information, contact the Hengso Museum Curatorial Research Team at 053-580-6992~3.