Concept
Kim Jae-hong (김재홍; born 1958) is a South Korean illustrator. He has held many solo and group exhibitions presenting works based on the theme of "humans and nature as one." In 2004, he received the International Children’s Book Award from the Foundation Espace Enfants in Switzerland for his first Picture book, The Children of the Donggang River. Kim was born on February 14, 1958, in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. He enrolled in the Department of Western Art at Hongik University, but dropped out. To support himself, he operated an art academy and produced artworks. His debut as a Picture book artist was influenced by Lee Uk-bae, Kwon Yoon-duck, and Jung Seung-gak. In 1999, he received a proposal to produce a Picture book through an exhibition entitled Images Hidden within Images and began his career as a Picture book Author with his first book, The Children of the Donggang River. Since then he has produced some ninety books. Kim received the International Children’s Book Award in 2004 from the Foundation Espace Enfants in Switzerland for his first Picture book, The Children of the Donggang Rive. One of the original illustrations of the book, entitled Mother and Child, has been featured in the art textbook for first-year high school students in Korea. Cat School (written by Kim Jin-kyung) released in 2001 was subsequently translated and published in Taiwan, China, Japan, and France. The book received Le Prix des Incorruptibles, a French children's literature award, in 2006. It is the only work from Asia to have been selected for the CM2/6e. Moreover, the book was officially invited to the Paris Book Festival. In 2007, Yeong-I’s Plastic Umbrella received the Children’s Jury Award at the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava. In 2016, he produced illustrations for Taebaek Mountain Range, a novel series by Jo Jeong-rae. He has also created Illustrations for works by major Korean literary figures such as Park Wan-suh, Kim Yongtaek, Kim Hyang-Yi, and Lee Guem-yi. Kim’s Picture books embody his love for nature and humans.