INTERVIEW | Mingu Kang

10 Questions with Mingu Kang

Kang Mingu is a filmmaker, media artist, and writer. He studied visual aesthetics in the doctoral program at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and has been actively creating works based in South Korea. His film Search Operation: The New Town Survivor (2021) won the Feature Film Award at the Brno International Film Festival and has received awards at various other international film festivals.

Subsequently, his film Reset (2022) was selected as the Best 10 Film at the 6th Seoul Dance Film Festival. With film Personality Counseling Center at 0 Avenue (2022), he won the Best Art Film award at the 2023 ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival, among other international awards. His film A Ghost Lives in the Tunnel(2023) was screened in the International Shorts category at the 5th Diorama Film Festival, and animation film, Fish Monster (2023) received the Shinhan Card ESG Award at the 14th Seoul Transportation Corporation International Subway Film Festival.

In 2024, with support from the Gangbuk Cultural Foundation, he produced and showcased the film Performance No. 19190301 (2024) through screenings and an online exhibition. Additionally, in 2024, with support from the Shiny Foundation, he held a solo exhibition titled From Red to Gray.

Based on media arts, Kang Mingu held a solo exhibition, The Spinning Top, in 2023 with support from the Dobong Cultural Foundation. In the same year, he was selected as a UNESCO City to City artist and co-hosted a two-person exhibition, A Room of the Humanity, with a Czech artist in the Czech Republic and France. Additionally, in 2024, he participated in a group exhibition at Seoullo Media Canvas with the animation Seoul, SkyCoral and 3 Stories.

Kang has also directed and written plays, including The Deep River is Always Cool (2022) and A Ghost Lives in the Tunnel (2023), which was produced with support from the Seocho Cultural Foundation. A Ghost Lives in the Tunnel was later screened as part of the Open Stage at the 2024 Seoul Fringe Festival.

His published works include Indian Cinema (2021), an academic analysis of Indian films; Korean Urban Legends(2022), an exploration of Korean ghost stories based on Korean society; The Deep River is Always Cool (2023), a horror essay based on his childhood; Urban Legends of India (2022), a collection of Indian ghost stories; Strange and Uncanny: A Collection of Chinese Urban Legends (2024), a compilation of Chinese ghost stories; and An Illustrated Book of European Monsters (2024), which describes monsters from European folklore and mythology.

@kang.kang.11

Mingu Kang - Portrait

ARTIST STATEMENT

He has expanded his artistic practice from film to various forms, including publishing, theater, exhibitions, and media art based on various subjects. His works often depict vulnerable figures within society, exploring themes such as redevelopment, technological transformation, and mythology while emphasizing a warm perspective and hope for the marginalized. Through these narratives, he reflects his desire for comfort and warmth in both his own life and the society around him, which ultimately underlines his purpose as an artist.

Personality Counseling Center at 0 Avenue, Film, 2022 © Mingu Kang


INTERVIEW

Please introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you, and when did your interest in art first begin?

I am Kang Min-gu, a filmmaker, media artist, theater director, and writer. I have continued my work based in South Korea. Growing up with gentle parents and nature as my companion, I've had a variety of unusual experiences that have deeply influenced me. The emotions I felt during those times and the images that still linger in my mind have a significant impact on my artistic work.

Your artistic practice spans film, theater, media art, and writing. How do these different forms of expression complement each other, and what drives you to explore so many mediums?

My first artistic career began with film. Since then, I have produced many films, but over time, I began to feel a sense ofdissatisfaction. It wasn't a dissatisfaction with the technical aspects of the medium, but rather with the images confined to the screen. This led me to take the images out of the screen and into exhibitions, and to create theater without a camera.These various experiments have provided me with many insights.
For instance, when creating a theater production, I have to convey meaning to the audience using only the actors' performances, lighting, sound, and stage props, without the freedom of camera movement. This opened up new challenges for me. Through this process, I also became aware of my limitations. The struggles I face in different artistic genres complement each other, working in a mutually beneficial way across mediums.

A ghost lives in the tunnel, Film, 2024 © Mingu Kang

Your award-winning films have gained international recognition. How does winning awards and showcasing your work globally influence your creative direction?

Showcasing my work on the international stage or receiving awards is an incredible experience for me as a creator. It provides confidence and assurance in my work, and based on those experiences, I can continue to create in the future. I believe that all artistic creations are inherently subjective. The question of whether a work created from a subjective perspective will resonate with others is something every artist will ponder throughout their life. Receiving awards and presenting my work in front of others is an honor as an artist. It serves as a driving force for future experimentation.

As you mention in your statement, your works often focus on vulnerable figures within society. What personal or external influences inspire you to explore these themes?

Not all of my works, but many of them, center around the vulnerable. I can't logically pinpoint the exact reason for this focus. I can only interpret it as being deeply influenced by the warm values instilled in me through my parents' upbringing, which shaped my inclusive perspective on society and the future. These values seem to play a crucial role in shaping my worldview and artistic vision.
Ultimately, my artistic journey aligns with reinforcing these values and my philosophy of art. For instance, when I watch a sunset, I'm reminded of forgotten working women. When I look at a crumbling abandoned house, I think of nameless children who might have passed away there. The figures that come to mind aren't concrete or tangible but rather vague, ambiguous beings that might exist somewhere.
Perhaps this process of creating art is also a journey of self-discovery—an exploration of my identity and the values I hold dear.

Search operation The new town survivor, Film, 2021 © Mingu Kang

From red to gray, Film, 2024 © Mingu Kang

Your works reflect a hope for warmth and comfort for these marginalized individuals. How do you balance portraying societal struggles with optimism, and why is this message important to you as an artist?

The future I envision is closely tied to my hopes for the direction society should take—what I call optimism. I dream of a warm and inclusive society that embraces all its members with compassion rather than ignoring or marginalizing those considered vulnerable. At the same time, I am cautious about framing people as simply "weak" or "strong."
In my work, my approach to portraying the vulnerable is through "representation." Rather than creating narratives where the vulnerable overpower the strong, become powerful themselves, or achieve extraordinary success, I focus on unraveling their stories with emotional depth and warmth. It's about simply "showing" their lives and, before that, "seeing" them myself in the hope that audiences will take a moment to reflect on them as well.
As an artist, the mediums I use to tell these stories—film, exhibitions, media art, and others—serve as my tools. On a more detailed level, this involves decisions about how to compose shots, use colors, design costumes, and structure narratives, all of which contribute to bringing these stories to life.

Your media art and exhibitions often explore technological and cultural transformations, too. How does media art enable you to express themes differently than film or theater?

When conceptualizing media art or exhibitions, my primary focus is on the "way it is presented to the audience." Films are screened in cinemas, plays are performed on theater stages, and media art or exhibitions meet their audience in galleries or museums. While various artistic genres exist, I ultimately see them as part of a unified whole. The key distinction lies in "how the audience experiences them."
For instance, if my media art is displayed on a large billboard in the heart of a city, the most significant factor influencing my choice of medium is what the audience might expect in that context and what emotions I want them to feel. The decision on how to present the work stems from this consideration of the audience's experience.

Reset, Film, 2022 © Mingu Kang

Performance No.19190301, Film, 2024 © Mingu Kang

You've written extensively about urban legends and folklore from Korea, India, China, and Europe. What draws you to these stories, and how do you incorporate them into your visual and written works?

I'm not exactly sure where my interest in legends and folktales began. As a child, I found great enjoyment in reading the fairy tale books my parents bought for me. These stories sparked my fascination with the various beings they featured, such as monsters and ghosts. What intrigued me wasn't just their appearances but also the stories behind why they became beings so different from humans.
This interest naturally seeped into my work, influencing it in many ways. It might take the form of the story itself or manifest in the characters and beings within the narrative. Overall, it has become a significant source of inspiration throughout my creative process.

On that note, how does your writing process compare to filmmaking, and do the two practices inform each other?

Writing, for me, is the process of transforming my imagination into text. Film takes this further by visualizing the images encapsulated in the text. While the two mediums employ different methods of expression, they ultimately converge into a single creative endeavor. Both writing and filmmaking, depending on the project, often involve characters and narratives, which unify them conceptually.
When I write, I focus on delivering the images in my mind through literary language, striving for clarity and resonance. When making films, my attention shifts to bringing those images to life visually. Writing involves an endless process of selecting words, arranging their order, and considering sentence length and tense. In filmmaking, I deliberate over shot types, color palettes, sound design, actors, props, and countless other elements to shape the final visual experience.

The top is spinning, Exhibition, 2023 © Mingu Kang

Are there any new projects or mediums you are excited to explore? What themes or stories do you hope to bring to life in your future works?

I have a deep fondness for the keyword "experimental." I am particularly drawn to genres that exist on ambiguous boundaries, defying clear categorization into any specific medium. This ambiguity ultimately signifies the creation of new imagery. My work is dedicated to crafting these new images, which I believe sets it apart.
One of the projects I am currently planning involves visualizing the poetry of "Lee Sang," a poet who wrote experimental works during Korea's modern and contemporary history. Lee Sang's poems are intriguingly ambiguous, leaving readers unsure if they convey a specific message. However, the process of interpreting their meaning and imagining the associated imagery is quite enjoyable.
As for the concrete results I've envisioned so far, I want to incorporate contemporary dance and bold, vivid colors. I plan to develop this concept further and refine it into a more detailed vision.

Where do you see yourself and your work five years from now? 

In an era where provocative content is mass-produced solely for the sake of garnering interest, I aspire to be a remarkable creator who presents meaningful and experimental works. Of course, while my works are experimental, I aim to make them enjoyable and accessible to the audience. I want to create works that are both "experimental" and "popular." Beyond five years, and even 10 or 20 years from now, I hope to continue reaching audiences with works that stand the test of time and are remembered as outstanding creations.


Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.