Pierre-Alexis Dumas, president of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, recalls the inspiration for the Fondation Hermès Missulsang, now in its tenth year: "Korea's dynamic visual arts scene prompted the idea for a prize designed to reward rising young artists, and to support the creation of new artworks. […] A contribution to the cultural life of the city of Seoul was, it seemed, the best way."
The 2009 finalists – Hwayeon Nam, Jae Oon Rho and Yoon Young Park – see their work exhibited at the Atelier Hermès in Seoul, ahead of judging. Korean art critic Keum Hyun Han describes Hwayeon Nam's work as "an utterly sufficient, minimalist structure". Atelier curator Heejin Kim cites Jae Oon's exploration of "the fundamental human systems of perception and cognitions." And Han-Seung Ryu, curator of Korea's National Museum of Contemporary Art, salutes Yoon Young Park's "novel written in pictures".
The judges for the 2009 Missulsang are: Sunjung Kim (professor at Korea's National University of the Arts and director of Samuso) Soyeon Ahn (curator-in-chief of the Samsung art museum, Leeum), artist Lee Bul, Chris Dercon (director of the Haus der Kunst, Munich) and Marc-Olivier Wahler (director of the Palais de Tokyo, Paris).
