Aung Soe Min is a Burmese poet, musician, publisher, artist, magazine editor, film director and gallerist. He also founded Pansodan Gallery.

“Pansodan Street is the gateway to the world” as painter and businessman Mr. Aung Soe Min puts it, Pansodan Street, which runs north and south through downtown Yangon, has been a center of culture since the days of British rule. Even today, there are huge buildings of colonial style, and as you can see from the many bookstores around there, intellectuals such as government officials who governed Rangoon (now Yangon), which was regarded as one of the most fascinating cities in South East Asia, flourished in cultural discussions here. Mr. Aung Soe Min set up a gallery which he named after “Pansodan”.

Aung Soe Min is living and working in Yangon, Myanmar. Aung Soe Min was born in 1970 in Kayaukpadaung near Mandalay, famous for its traditional music. When he was a child, it was comic books that he was obsessed with. He imitated his favorite characters and drew illustrations of them. For Mr. Aung Soe Min, who was not formally educated in painting, the comic books were to him a source of knowledge. As a student who did not have enough money to buy books, Mr. Aung Soe Min, who was fond of reading as well as comic books, began his job as a book-binder. When he advertised his binding services, books arrived from all over town, and he was able to earn money while reading them at random for free.

During his youth, it was a turbulent time for Myanmar. In 1988, many young people committed themselves to creating a new country with a democratic movement. However, their dream was destroyed by their repression by the military government. He does not talk about  this period much, but he also participated in the struggle. As a result, his situation was no longer safe, and his family became scattered.