Hojakdo — Tigers and Magpies, Ink Painting | Korean Minhwa Art Print

In Korea, every New Year, a tiger and a magpie went up on the door. The tiger to chase away evil, the magpie to bring good news. This painting goes further: a whole tiger family gathers under an old pine, while five magpies circle and scold them from the branches.

A family of tigers

At the center, a great striped tiger sits calmly, a cub clinging to its back. Two more tigers prowl below. Painted only in black ink on warm paper, with bold stripes and graphic lines, they look almost modern, yet they belong to the centuries-old tradition of hojakdo, the "tiger and magpie" paintings of Korean folk art (minhwa).

Look closer

• Three cicadas hide on the pine trunk, symbols of purity and renewal. Can you find them?
• The pine stands for long life, the magpies for joyful news, the tigers for protection.
• An inscription in classical Chinese runs along the side, with a poem and a cyclical date.
• A popular reading saw a joke in it: the mighty tigers are the officials, and the cheeky magpies are the common people, who dare to mock them.

In your home

Its monochrome palette makes it easy to hang: perfect in a black, natural oak or walnut frame, in a Japandi, minimalist or gallery-wall interior, above a desk or in an entryway, where it can keep watch over the house, as it did in Korea.

Your print

• Printed to order on heavy matte fine-art paper (200 g/m² and up, FSC-certified)
• Several sizes available · frame not included
• Shipped flat-rolled in a rigid tube · usually dispatched within 9–12 business days
• 30-day returns

Discover more Korean and Japanese big cats in our Tigers & Dragons of Asia collection, and the Hojakdo's colorful cousin, Hojakdo — Tiger and Magpie by Soam Lee Seong-su.