2021

ESJF Student Art Competition
​at Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School

Marking our fifth consecutive year of support, in March 2021, ESJF organized a student art contest at Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School in Japan. Three students’ paintings were selected--Act of Drawing, Moving Forward with Unity, and Overcoming Obstacles. Like many Korean schools in Japan, this school has been experiencing state-sanctioned educational injustices based on ethnicity. To learn about Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School, click here. 

Act of Drawing, 8th grade

Hui-dae Lee (리휘대)

Artist Note: What does it mean to draw?
I think as I draw people drawing. I guess we illustrate what we see, hear, feel, and think. Looking into my own heart, I freely drew my world.
​
그림을 그린다는 것은 어떤 일일가, 나는 그림을 그리는 사람을 그리면서 생각한다. 보고 듣고 느끼거나 생각한 것들을 나타내는 거겠지. 내 마음속을 들여다보고 마음껏 나의 세계를 그려보자. 

                                                               

Overcoming Obstacles, 7th grade

​​Ree-an Jo (조리안)   

Artist Note: There are so many obstacles to attending our Korean school [in Japan].  I drew on our determination and resilience to overcome any obstacles.

우리가 조선학교를 다니는데 어려움은 한두 가지가 아닙니다. 나는 우리앞에 그 어떤 난관이 닥쳐와도 꿋꿋이 이겨내는 마음을 그렸어요.

Moving Forward with Unity, 7th grade

Yoon-hee Chang (장윤희)​ 

Artist Note: When I participated in a demonstration for securing my [fundamental human] rights, I saw how peoples’ hearts became one and moved as one. I drew our collective heart, moving forward with unity toward hope. 

권리획득을 위한 데모에 참가했을 때 나는 사람들의 마음이 하나가 되고 움직이는 것을 보았습니다. 희망의 빛을 향해 앞으로 나아가자는 마음을 그렸습니다. 

2019

Student Art Exchange Program Between Chiba and San Francisco

In 2019, ESJF coordinated the first student art exchange program between Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School and Mariposa Kids Community Project (MKCP), an afterschool enrichment program founded in 2007 in San Francisco. 

48th annual student art exhibition in Chiba, Japan

7th annual student art exhibition in San Francisco, CA