The 1960s and '70s in Korea was a period marked by a sharp contrast between dramatic development and tumultuous turmoil, a time remembered by many as the era of military dictatorship, industrialization and burgeoning popular culture. From abroad, the period was marked by the conflicting ideologies of the Cold War, from the Vietnam War and anti-war protests, to the U.S. and Soviet space race and the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. It was also a time when the groundbreaking space technology seemed to promise a new beginning for humanity. On the cultural dimension, a spirit of resistance dominated, with the youth subculture alongside the hippie and psychedelic movements coexisting in multiple narratives within the realm of popular culture.

Asian Diva: The Muse and the Monster examines how those political and cultural influences of the West have been woven into the local context of postcolonial cultures in Korea and other countries in Southeast Asia. More specifically, the exhibition focuses on the stigmatized subcultures of the period under the violence and repression of the military order under Yushin indoctrination, as well as the women and minorities of the time who have been marginalized to the fringes of the strictly male-centered patriarchic society. The exhibition introduces the popular culture of Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia from the 1960s and '70s represented by cultural icons such as Kim Chooja and Hahn Dae-soo, examining the postcolonial experiences in the region through the lens of pop culture by exploring a wide range of issues centering on the realities of women, gender and sexuality, and more broadly, the Cold War and political dictatorship.

Presenting works by contemporary artists including Kim Soyoung, Rho Jae Oon, Park Chan Kyong, Arahmaiani, Yoshiko Shimada, siren eun young jung, and Jane Jin Kaisen, together with the geometric abstraction and experimental art of the 1960s and '70s by artists Kim Ku-lim, Park Seo-Bo and Sung Neungkyung, Asian Diva: The Muse and the Monster highlights the spirit of resistance and the zeitgeist captured in the artworks. The exhibition also displays a selection of works by the artist Chun Kyung-ja from her years as a military painter during the Vietnam War, in addition to a wide- ranging archive of cultural memorabilia including a personal collection and recordings of the singer Kim Chooja which are presented to the public for the first time. Through the exhibition, we would like you to hear the female voices that had been deserted, forgotten and unheard that exploring various histories of women in Asia under the dictatorship and patriarchic society.