Soonyi Oh was born in Korea in 1966. After graduating from Eastern Painting at Dankook University, she enrolled in the Department of Chinese Painting (in the field of landscape painting), China Academy of Art, in 1994 to pursue her master’s and doctor’s degrees. 

Under the guidance of Professor Zhuo Hejun and Professor Ren Daobin, she was among the first PhD graduates in creative practice and theoretical research of Chinese painting, China Academy of Art, in 2004. To congratulate Soonyi Oh on her graduation exhibition, Dean Xiao He wrote an inscription, “A miracle in the world, an extraordinary female talent, a unique flower in the art circle, high aspiration in the ancient and modern times. Broken in body but firm in spirit, climbing up without arms, reaching the peak degree, without parallel in history.” 

Now, as a professor, PhD advisor, and dean of Oriental Painting at Dankook University, Soonyi Oh said, “I know the road of my art study is long. The life and study of my sojourn in China brought me a lot. For a foreign student learning landscape painting, the experiences are already a precious treasure. But my efforts will not stop, and my learning will never end.”