Jang Jong-soon graduated from the Department of Korean Painting in the College of Fine Arts, Keimyung University. She held her second solo exhibition in KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Daegu in August 2008, and her paintings have also been exhibited at the Howe Gallery in Vancouver, Canada. She is also a member of the Korean Fine Arts Association. The Gazette interviewed her and asked her some questions.
1. I know you majored in Korean painting but you draw Western paintings. Do you have a reason for this?
Paintings are fascinating by themselves regardless of genre, so what sort of material we use is not important. I think that it is important to see only how artists express their thinking or ideas.

2. Is there a special reason you mainly draw rose paintings?
When I see roses in bloom in nature, I think how great an artist God is. They have a dignified and free appearance. There is no pleasure like representing the sheer beauty of their shape and color. Their dignified and free appearance also makes me feel freedom from myself, shut up within daily life.

3. Do you have any memorable experiences or works since you started painting?
Once I spent a long time working to capture the simple and honest appearance of an old woman. It still remains in my memory the most while I do my work.
4. What would you like to represent as an artist?
I would like to put "love" and "happiness" in the painting. Also, I'd like to represent the beauty of nature. Nature is truly beautiful, especially flowers blooming in nature. As I spent my childhood in a rural area, I'd like to let people understand nature and inform them about the beauty of it.

5. Would you give some advice to KMU students?
I think that school days are a significant and precious time in one's life. I regret spending that time easily in the past, so I hope all KMU students spend their school days valuably.