With the Mother

The above work is the oil painting Patriotic Mind which was produced by painter Choe Mun Hyok of the Kangwon Provincial Fine Arts Studio, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The painting portrays a girl planting a tree with her mother.

It has been displayed in the Korean Art Gallery attracting the attention of the people since it was presented in the National Fine Arts Exhibition in 2015. The painter depicted what had happened in his family.

The painter has a wife and a daughter. The daughter was four years old when he was creating the work.

His wife planted a fir tree with her daughter on a hill behind their village in spring when nature was coming back to life.

“Mummy, why are we planting a tree?”

“Oh my darling Ryu Mi, trees are very important for us. When you grow up, they also grow up and give a lot of benefits to us–making the air fresh and creating a cool shade in summer. Then our house will become a very beautiful and good place to live in.”

This is not merely a painting but a part of the common life in the Korean families. 

In the country it is a custom and tradition to plant trees in mountains and fields in spring.

All the people, old and young, turn out to plant trees in all parts of the country.

In the DPRK March 14 is Tree-Planting Day.