Master of Graphic Design and Typography, Ahn Sang-soo

Exploring Visual Art Through Hangul

Munjabanya is a comprehensive collection of Ahn Sang-soo’s Hollyeora (Be Spellbound) series that unveils his expertise in graphic design, typography, and visual art. Ahn, who refers to himself as ‘Nalgae,’ the ‘president’ of the Paju Typography Institute, is one of Korea’s most prominent designers. He has spent over 40 years exploring the forms of Hangul, probing into a visual world centered around text. His work not only transforms the shapes of characters—rich with words, sounds, and ideas—into pure visual forms, but also uncovers the spiritual essence of text through its aesthetic beauty. His latest series, Hollyeora (2017–present), was first introduced at his solo exhibition Nalgae.PaTI at the Seoul Museum of Art in 2017 and has since evolved into various new styles. Ahn’s approach, which he calls ‘Munjado’—both a genre and a creative method—reveals the dual nature of text as both a tool for communication and an artistic end in itself, challenging the contemporary view of text as merely functional. The book also features knowledgeable input from Lee Dong-guk, Director of the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, and Kwon Jin, Curator at the Seoul Museum of Art, who approach Ahn’s work with a deeper understanding of the embedded meanings.