Falling Art Star

A pretty big scandal has recently rocked the Korean art and academic community. A 35 year old rising superstar in the Korean art world, Shin Jeong-Ah, has been accused of forging her academic credentials. These included a PhD from Yale and a BA and MBA from the University of Kansas. She also said that she transferred from the prestigious Seoul National University but never studied there. Apparently, she is only a high school graduate.

The shock is that this person has risen to a position of great prominence in the Korean art community. She is (was) a Professor at Danguk University (the youngest ever) and the Chief Curator of the Sungkok Art Museum. Also, she was appointed co-curator of the 2008 Gwangju Biennale which is arguably the most high profile art showcase in Korea attracting a global audience (at least within the art community). She has since been dismissed from all of these institutions.

Another purported lie was that she lay in the rubble of the Sampoong Department store disaster in 1995 for several hours before being rescued. The real sotry was that she was there on that fateful day but had long gone home before the accident occurred. Lucky, yes, but a miracle survivor ... hardly.

She maintains her innocence and is currently in NY. All of the above institutions replied that she was never a matriculated student so it should be interesting to see how she proves herself. The fax that was sent to Dongguk University that "proved" her academic credentials from Yale was a fake. Perhaps, she is just a pathological liar in which case she is just can't help herself. Perhaps her life was just not that great that her only escape was to live this lie.

This (sadly) sort of brings to mind the Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk case (forged tests on cloning). Now, some well known English teachers in Korea are confessing that they, too, have forged their academic credentials. A recent articel in the Joongang Daily reports that police will check academic records of just under 3,000 English teachers. According to the article, fake diplomas are easily purchased for about US$50 and you can graduate summa cum laude for just an extra $10.

If all of these accusations turn out to be true, it's likely that she will go to jail for fraud. It's a bit sad in a way, she worked herself up from being a part time translator in a museum to the top of the art field. Lack of academic credentials aside, she must have had some talent or maybe it says something about the Korean art world. I sort of wish for her to be somehow vindicated as that would make for some riveting drama. Won't hold my breath though.
- Pat in Seoul