Wonsook Kim (Artist) was born in 1953 in Busan, Korea. She began drawing at a young age. Some of her earliest influences came from Korean folk stories and Christian Bible stories. She studied traditions of art in high school and college in Korea, and graduated with a B.S. and Master of Fine Arts degree from Illinois State University in 1978. After graduation, she moved to New York City to pursue a career as a painter and exhibiting artist.
Kim is renowned for the symbolic narratives reflected in her drawings, prints, paintings, sculptures, and books. Kim’s artworks are the result of her lifetime experiences in Korea and the United States, and have been shown in over sixty solo exhibitions around the world. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree to recognize her artistic achievements during Illinois State University’s Founders Day on February 21, 2019.
Illinois State University’s College of Fine Arts and the School of Art was named the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and the Wonsook Kim School of Art on September 12, 2019, in recognition of Kim’s generosity to her alma mater. She is married to Thomas Park Clement, a Korean-American adoptee, who is a medical device inventor and entrepreneur.