Haunted Koreas: Mina Cheon Retrospective 2005-2025

Mina Cheon, Missiles Good Bye, 2017

“Haunted Koreas” Exhibition Dates: August 30-September 28, 2025
Open: Saturdays and Sundays at 11am-5pm and by appointment (email info@kodalab.org)

Tickets: Art and Comedy Event: Saturday, September 6, 2025 (3:00pm)

KODA House, Building #407B, Colonels Row, Governors Island, New York

KODA in New York proudly presents the solo exhibition of global activist and Korean new media artist Mina Cheon, "Haunted Koreas: Mina Cheon Retrospective 2005-2025" (August 30-September 28, 2025), programmed under the theme of "Peace-Building." The survey show is a distinctive curation of her art known as "Polipop," inspired by pop art and social realism, churned political pop art. The selected works span her art career as an art activist and human rights advocate, from early works to recent art activism, new media, and installation, as well as an extensive collection of Cheon's series of "Dreaming Unification Protest Peace" paintings, offering a new perspective on the flags of a unified One Korea. Each of these paintings, born from the artist's stream of unconsciousness along with her counterpart North Korean art persona "Kim Il Soon," is a powerful peace protest, shedding light on the intricacies of communication, love, and a shared vision of a harmonious future for Haunted Koreas. The call for unification within the Koreas is a concerted effort to desire peace on earth, for dreaming global peace is about healing and reconciliation of tempered worlds divided.

"Peace is expensive. War is lucrative. Artists are peace makers. Comedians are truth sayers."

*Conflict *Resolution *Politics *Peace *Love

Wars are lucrative, and peace is an expensive endeavor. In other words, war yields short-term economic benefits for some and lasting destruction for the rest, a losing proposition for all, whereas peace necessitates a globally committed, sustained investment. Using the rhetoric of pop art, Cheon's Polipop makes bold political statements that promote unity and peace on earth during a time of war and conflict, inviting everyone to participate in the conversation. The role of the artist as a peace maker aligns with comedians as truth sayers, who together catalyze creative capital as a positive investment for the future. The common thread that bridges art and comedy is socio-political commentary and satire, social justice and activism, the pacifist spirit, and a throughline that art and laughter are things undefinable, as insinuated by Huizinga's theory of play or in the Duchampian manner, a serious-play of the fourth dimension. KODA presents a world premiere Art and Comedy event dedicated to peace-building.

Please join us on Saturday, September 6, 2025 (3:00-5:00pm), for the "Art and Comedy Event: Peace-Building with Laughter" at KODA House on Governors Island, produced and curated by the artist Mina Cheon and with a global lineup of the most intelligent-funny standup comedians of New York and LA–the lovable Jonah Bowen, Bangladeshi Naveed Mahbub, Egyptian-American Eman Morgan, and Korean-American Peter S. Kim. Hosted by MJ, a standup Korean, this is the artist Cheon’s debut as a comedian to the art world after months of training as a standup comedian and learning from the inspiring and established comedians listed. And, as a treat, prior to the feature show, a special lineup of New York’s most talented emerging and active comedians will open the event, including comedians Alex Kim, John Bent, Ryan Chazie, Yatin, and Adam Thomas. At the KODA House and the haunted house of Koreas, it's a beauty pageant of comedians and their transformative power of healing through laughter, with storytelling on conflict, resolution, politics, peace, and love in some generously funny way.

This is a ticketed event; all proceeds will go to the comedians who made this event possible. Seats are limited, and the show starts at 3:00pm. The exhibition is open to the public from 11:00am.
Press pass is available with reservation - please contact: Klaudia Ofwona Draber <klaudia@kodalab.org>
The Art and Comedy Event is sponsored by Hana Makgeolli

About the featured comedians:

Jonah Bowen is a General Manager at Stand Up NY, a beloved standup comedian, and a leader of the comedy world and industry in New York. He graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Comedic Arts and has been mentoring interns from Emerson ever since at Stand Up NY. He is the host of the weekly open mics "Let's Go Mental" at Hotel Edison and "Rush Hour Comedy" at Zeam Studios, which broadcasts live comedy from Times Square; both co-sponsored by Stand Up NY. This summer, he appeared as a guest comic as one of the funny Jewish boyzz for Talia Reese at Rodney's Comedy Club in New York, the UG Comedy Show, and he performs regularly at Stand Up NY House Shows in Times Square.

Naveed Mahbub, an engineer turned CEO turned comedian (by choice!), is a Bangladeshi comedian and columnist who created one of Asia's first comedy clubs, "Naveed Comedy Club (NCC)" in Dhaka. He was awarded Best Male Comedian in the 2007 Las Vegas Comedy Festival. In 2016, Mahbub was featured on the US-based comedy television channel Comedy Central. He hosts the morning radio show "Good Morning Bangladesh" on ABC Radio. He writes articles for the newspaper "The Daily Star." Re-transporting himself to New York recently, he has brought the house down across comedy clubs in New York, appearing in "South Asian Comedy Laughing Lassi," "NY Tech Week 2025" of Broadway Comedy Club, and headlining at Stand Up NY.

Eman Morgan is a New York City–based Egyptian-American comedian and actor. Originally from Los Angeles, he moved to New York to reach broader audiences—a move that helped establish him as one of the leading Middle Eastern comedians today. Known for his vibrant, high-energy performances, Eman has toured nationally and internationally, performing in both English and Arabic. He has headlined the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival for 12 consecutive years and has been featured on platforms like Funny or Die and Showtime. When he’s not on stage or writing, Eman enjoys spending time with his family in Los Angeles, staying active, and exploring new places.

Peter S. Kim is a writer, comedian, and actor who has been lauded for his role as Paul in the critically acclaimed comedy "A Nice Indian Boy." Named JFL's New Face of Comedy, Peter is also a series regular on the satirical animated comedy "Fairfax" (Amazon) and can be seen on "Shrinking" (Apple TV+), "Frasier" (Paramount +), "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO), "Yes Day" (Netflix) and "Spies in Disguise" (Disney+). As a screenwriter, he staffed on the latest two seasons of "HouseBroken" (FOX) and has pitched and developed his original comedy pilots with ABC, FOX, NBC, Comedy Central, CBS Studios, and Disney Channel. His set includes an unapologetic portrayal of the Korean American experience, and he runs a two queer Korean comedians' "2 Kims 1 Pod" Ajumma show with fellow comedian Eunji Kim.

MJ, a standup Korean (stage name of artist Mina Cheon), has performed at various comedy clubs in New York, including The Stand, Eastville, Broadway Comedy Club, Grisly Pear Midtown, and Stand Up NY. She curated and hosted the “Echo Mic” at the Westside Comedy Club, a curated open mic show. She began her standup comedy at the "Let's Go Mental" free open mic cosponsored by Guber Jokes (guberjokes.com) and Stand Up NY supporting mental health hotline, ‘988 Lifeline.' While training, she has received guidance, coaching, and mentorship from the comedians listed above and has been welcomed into the comedy community, thanks to the many incredible comedians of New York.

Mina Cheon’s artistic practice draws inspiration from the partition of the Korean peninsula, exemplified by her parallel body of work created under her North Korean alter ego, Kim Il Soon, in which she enlists a range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, video, installation, performance, and public projects to deconstruct and reconcile the precarious history and ongoing coexistence between North and South Korea. The aspiration for peace in the Korean peninsula amidst escalating global warfare is to examine the complexities of ideological, political, economic, and religious divisions evident in everyday life and to offer a call for global harmony that inspires us all as a form of cultural protest. Her Polipop is eye-catching and provocative art that is made visually accessible and inclusive by its invitation to the subject matter, with cultural comparative studies and inquiries into global geopolitics layered in the art. She has exhibited internationally, including at the Inaugural Asia Society Triennial, NY (2020-2021); Busan Biennale, Korea (2018); Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (2018); American University Museum, DC (2014); Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul (2012); and Insa Art Space, Seoul (2005). Her work is in the collections of the Seoul Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Smith College Museum of Art, and more. Cheon’s artistic exploration into standup comedy, as MJ, is a part of her work as Artist-In-Residence at KODA and her new project, “Peace Building from the Koreas to the Worlds Divided.” Mina Cheon is represented by the Ethan Cohen Gallery and collaborates with the Stephanie Kim Gallery, both in New York.

“Haunted Koreas: Mina Cheon Retrospective 2005-2025” is in part an extended Cheon’s “Haunted Koreas” traveling exhibition which includes her 2022 solo show at the American University Museum in Washington DC, with select pieces coming from the Inaugural 2020-2021 Asia Society Triennale, Cheon’s 2021 solo exhibition at the Korea Society, and her 2020-2021 solo exhibition at the Ethan Cohen Gallery, all in New York.” Some works are also on display concurrently in the “Art and Activism” exhibition at the Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College in Washington and come from the Asian Arts and Culture Center in Towson University in Maryland, the last site of the traveling exhibition in 2025.

KODA is a nomadic social practice arts organization dedicated to incubating conceptual mid-career artists who are deeply committed to social justice practices. At the KODA House on Governors Island, New York, artists have studio residencies and survey shows under socio-political topical themes, such as Identity + Justice, Trauma + Healing, Land + Environment, Racial Justice, Borders + Boundaries, Healing, Mental Health, and this year, “Peace-Building.”