From the 1960s to 1970s, many different Korean artists moved away from the abstract style that dominated art in South Korea after the Korean War, taking into account the constant and rapid change that their country was experiencing.

The Hammer Museum’s “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s” celebrates the wave of Korean artists that decided to resist the status quo and create a movement that enhanced the social and political culture of the time.

Previously exhibited at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea, “Only the Young” traveled to UCLA’s Hammer Museum to add to the Korean art scene of the city of Los Angeles. Like other metropolitan cities, L.A.’s diversity shapes part of the art scene in the city.

By showing Korean art, the Hammer Museum has capitalized on people’s curiosity toward new cultures by presenting new forms of art that everyone can enjoy. Additionally, the exhibition has also summoned the curiosity of Korean Americans as they are trying to connect back to their histories.

“We had a big response for the opening, you could tell that people [were] legitimately curious about [the] art,” said Pablo José Ramírez, the curator of “Only the Young.” “There were so many young Korean Americans [at] the opening of the show. So, hopefully, the show is saying something about their own histories.”

Being the first time a North American exhibition has focused on this era of Korean experimental art, “Only the Young” expanded its audience beyond South Korea, building a bridge between cultures. The exhibit not only serves as an attraction to art aficionados but also to those who want to learn more about history and the social effects that it has.

Just like art from the United States or Europe, the pieces have different themes and stories, and “Only the Young” encourages people to look beyond the art that is in one’s home country.

“Many of these works have been seen just in Korea,” Ramírez said. “Also, it’s a way for people interested in art [to look] at alternative art histories.”

Korea’s rich history allowed these artists to express themselves in new ways that went beyond the status quo. They experimented with their identity as Koreans and with new media to create art.

“Part of this reinvention was to think [about] what it [means] to be Korean and to be a Korean artist,” Ramírez said. “So they were in search of a Koreanness within their practice.”

There is a drastic change in the way art in Korea changed from the ’50s to the ’60s, switching to a more global approach to art. These artists wanted their art to represent the political issues happening at the time. They used their art as a medium to express their opinions on political issues that concerned South Korea and its history.

”They were responding to the social and political conditions of their time,” Ramírez said. “Part of that was breaking apart [from] the art canon of the time, which was formed during the Japanese colonial occupation in the first half of the 20th century.”

Even though Korean artists were taking inspiration from artists in the U.S. and Europe, they still wanted their own voice that allowed them to have their own national identity. Ramírez said they wanted their “Koreanness” to be expressed through their art, so they put their own spin on trends happening across the world.

“They were influenced by what they would see in art magazines coming from the U.S., but on the other hand, they wanted to do something that was kind of deeply local, Korean,” Ramírez said.

“Only the Young” highlights artists like Kim Kulim and Park Hyunki who revolutionized what art can do. They left behind old traditions and experimented with new mediums to make art. For example, Hyunki tested new media like moving images and video art. On the other hand, Kulim would use petroleum and fire to create paintings.

The exhibit offers approximately 80 works that show another side of South Korea’s art scene. From paintings to video art, the art pieces represent a part of Korean culture and history that a lot of Americans are unaware of.

“Most of the time, we tend to think that the history of art has been just written in Europe and the U.S. — well, it’s completely not true. Southeast Asia, Korea, China, Japan, Latin America have their own local histories,” Ramírez said. “For any person interested in art, and in art history, seeing this show is also getting one more piece of the puzzle together.”

“Only the Young” is on display at the Hammer Museum until May 12.