July 20th, 1932
Born in Seoul (Korea), the fifth son of a textile manufacturer
1950
The Paik family flees from the Korean War, first to Hong Kong, and later to Japan
1956
Paik graduates from the University of Tokyo, concluding his studies of the History of Art and the History of Music with a thesis on Arnold Schonberg
1956-58
Studies the History of Music at Munich University; meets Karlheinz Stockhausen; studies Composition at Freiburg Conservatory
1958-63
Meets John Cage; works in the Studio fur elektronische Musik at WDR, Cologne
1959-62
Has appearances with pieces of his action music; Stockhausen's "Originale" is performed in Cologne
1963
Participates in "Fluxus. Internationale Festspiele neuester Musik", Wiesbaden; "Exposition of Musik / Electronic Television", the first exhibition including TV monitors, is shown at Galerie Parnass, Wuppertal
1963-64
Travels to Japan; meets Shuya Abe; experiments with electromagnets and color television; visits New York, collaborates with Charlotte Moorman
1965
First solo exhibition "Electronic Art" in the USA at Galeria Bonino, New York; buys the first portable video recorder
1966-69
First multi-monitor installations; works with magnetically distorted TV recordings; "Electronic Opera No. 1" is performed at the live program "The Medium is the Medium", GBH-TV, Boston
1969-70
With Shuya Abe, constructs the video synthesizer
1971
Works at WNET's TV lab, New York
1976
Retrospective at Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
Since 1979
Chair at Staatliche Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf
1982
Retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
January 1st, 1984
Satellite broadcast of "Good Morning Mr. Orwell" from the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and a WNET-TV studio, New York
1987
Elected a member of the Akademie der Kunste, Berlin
1988
Erects a media tower, "The more the better", from 1003 monitors for the Olympic Games at Seoul
1990
"Video Arbor" is put up in Philadelphia as a sculpture for the public sector
1991-92
Double exhibition "Video Time - Video Space" at Kunsthalle Basel and Kunsthalle Zurich, subsequently shown in Dusseldorf and Vienna
Receives Goslar Kaiserringes Award
1993
Nam June Paik with Hans Haake represents Germany in XLV Venice Biennale d' Arte
1998
Receives Kyoto Award
2000
Receives National Arts Club Award
Retrospective The Worlds of Nam June Paik, opens at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York then travels to Ho-Am Art Gallery and the Rodin Gallery, Seoul Korea
Numerous grants and awards from, inter alia, the Guggenheim Museum, the
Rockefeller Foundation, and the American Film Institute; Will Grohmann
Award, Goslar Emperor's Ring, UNESCO's Picasso Medal
2006
Passes away January 29