New Treasures and National Treasures Gathered for Public Viewing

In collaboration with the National Museum of Korea, the Cultural Heritage Administration is organizing an exhibition to be held at the National Museum from July 21 to September 27 displaying cultural artifacts that have been entered onto the list of Treasures and National Treasures over the three-year period from 2017 through 2019.

The exhibition features 83 new entries composed of 196 total items, making it the largest-ever public display of Treasures and National Treasures. While 157 Treasures and National Treasures were newly designated during this period, architectural elements and other heavy or immovable properties had to be excluded.

Thirty-four individual and institutional heritage owners cooperated by lending their precious collections to the exhibition, allowing the creation of this magnificent opportunity to appreciate such a vast range of Treasures and National Treasures within a single space. The exhibition consists of three sections organized according to distinctive themes—Preserving History, Artistic Expression, and Opening the Heart.

The first part (Preserving History) presents an array of documentary heritage items testifying to the history of Korea. Among them are precious documents such as Samguksagi (History of the ThreeKingdoms; National Treasure No. 322-1; collected at the Oksan Neo-ConfucianAcademy), Samgukyusa(Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms; NationalTreasure No. 306-3; collected at Yonsei University), and Joseon wangjosillok(The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty; National Treasure No. 151; collected at the National Palace Museum, National Museum, Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Academy of Korean Studies). History of the Three Kingdoms and Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms were promoted from Treasure to National Treasure status, and more volumes were added to the existing assemblage of books collectively designated as The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. The Annals of theJoseon Dynasty, consisting of thousands of volumes, is detailed record of the 472 years of history from the reign of Joseon's founder (King Taejo) to its 25th ruler (King Cheoljong). The story of this invaluable documentary heritage is also presented at the exhibition, detailing the process of its publication, historical management, and its distribution.

Also included are examples of the diversity of Korean's documentation culture, such as Volumes 6–11 of Songjopyojeonchongnyu(Collection of Letters and Appeals to the Emperors of the Song Dynasty; Treasure No. 1989; private ownership), which offers evidence of the advanced printing technology of Joseon; Gisa gyecheop(Album of Paintings of the Gathering of the Elderly; National Treasure No. 325; National Museum), an illustrated record of a royal event demonstrating how the Joseon court actively employed painting as a means of record-keeping; and Portrait of Choi Seok-jeong and its case (TreasureNo. 1936; Cheongju National Museum), showing a realistic depiction of a Joseon scholar.

The second part (Artistic Expression) offers a diverse range of artifacts displaying traditional Korean aesthetics. Exhibits include celadon pieces testifying to the era’s lofty pottery skills and the traditional focus on unpretentious beauty. The celadon jar with the inscription of the fourth Sunhwa year (National TreasureNo. 326; EhwaWomans University) exemplifies early-Goryeo celadon production. The celadon brush holder with openwork lotus and scroll design (Treasure No. 1932; National Museum of Korea) is one of the best examples of figurative ceramic wares from the Goryeo period.

The exhibition also features a selection of real-view landscapes and genre paintings from Joseon, offering a vivid view of theculture and nature of the time. A Comprehensive View of the Inner Side of Mt. Geumgangsan in Autumn (Treasure No. 1951; Kansong Art Museum) by JeongSeon, Korea’s foremost real-view landscape painter, presents a poetic version of the Korean landscape. Kim Deuk Sin's album of genre paintings delivers images of the everyday lives of the people of Joseon(Treasure No. 1987; Kansong ArtMuseum). Also included is Streams and Mountains without End (TreasureNo. 2029; National Museum of Korea) by Yi In-mun, a stunning 8.5-meter-long depiction of the ideal world of which Joseon-era people dreamed. Kim Jeong-hui's album of orchid paintings and calligraphic works (Treasure No. 1983; Kansong Art Museum) provides a superb manifestation of the integration of scholarly and artistic pursuits.

The 22 Treasures collected at the Kansong Art Museum that are displayed at this exhibition deserve special attention. They include Beauty by Sin Yun-bok (Treasure No. 1973), a delicate depiction of a beautiful woman of its time, and Mounted Scholar Listening to a Nightingale by Kim Hong-do (Treasure No. 1970), an eloquent demonstration of the painter's artistic genius. This is the first time such a large collection of pieces has been lent out by the Kansong Art Museum, a private organization established by the art collector Jeon Hyeong-pil while he was exhausting his personal fortune safeguarding Korean cultural heritage during the perilous era of Japanese colonial rule.(The paintings and calligraphic works from the Kansong Art Museum are being rotated every three weeks, so it is suggested that visitors monitor which itemsare on display.)

The third section (Opening the Heart) provides a space to explore artifacts related to Buddhism, which account for more than a half ofthe entire body of Treasures and National Treasures. As a time-honored religion in Korea, Buddhism long served as the foremost spiritual support for society. It has not only helped Koreans overcome their everyday troubles, but also left behind a rich repertoire of artistic creativity. Many Koreans of the past wished to surmount the difficulty of this current life and be reborn in the Buddha’s paradise.To help convey their heartfelt wishes, they erected pagodas, constructed dharmahalls, produced Buddhist statues and paintings, published Buddhist scriptures, and crafted decorative reliquaries. The reliquaries excavated from the site of Wangheungsa Temple in Buyeo (National Treasure No. 327; Buyeo National ResearchInstitute of Cultural Heritage) is the oldest such example surviving in Korea, demonstrating the pinnacle of the crafting skills of the Baekje Kingdom.

Also covered in the third part of the exhibition are Seollimbohun(Teachings of Zen Buddhism; Treasure No. 700-2; Chungju Museum); Sanggyojeongbonjabidoryangchambeop(The Revised Version of the Repentance Ritual of the Create Compassion; National Treasure No. Treasure No. 875-3; Dalmasa Temple); Worincheongangjigok(Songs of the Moon's Reflection on a Thousand Rivers; private ownership), a Buddhist hymn composed by King Sejong on the heavenly bliss to be experienced by his dead wife, Queen Sohyeon, in the nether land; and the woodblocks used to print the Lotus Sutra (Treasure No. 1961; Gaesimsa Temple). These Buddhist publications attest to the documentation culture manifested within Korean Buddhism.

Buddhist paintings and sculptures are part of the exhibition as well, including Painting of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassionwith a Thousand Arms (Treasure No. 2015; private ownership) and the wooden seated Bodhisattva of Great Compassion of Buramsa Temple in Namyangju (TreasureNo. 2003; Buramsa Temple). For the exhibition, nine Buddhist temples affiliated with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism offered artifacts from their collections.

Before viewing the items themselves, visitors are invited to watch a video clip featuring short interviews on such questions as what is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about Treasures and National Treasures or about personal ideas on the future of cultural heritage. Along with ordinary citizens, participants in the interviews include former Minister of Culture Lee Eo-ryeong, Professor Sin Byeong-ju at Konkuk University, and the actor Lee Sun-jae. The video interviews will help prepare visitors for the upcoming exhibition by encouraging them to contemplate the significance and meaning of cultural heritage.

A range of experience programs are on offer as well, such as the digital search screen installed in the hall housing the first part of the exhibition. Here, visitors can explore the contents of The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty accord to the themes that interest them. When the search information times out, the letters vanish as if washed away with water. This digital effect is intended to evoke the "draft cleaning" process. During the Joseon Dynasty, the drafts that were produced for publication of The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty for a particular king were all washed clean with water in order to erase what had been written in ink. This process of erasing drafts was intended to preempt any possible problems that might arise in the future because of the draft records.

For the second part of the exhibition, the walls of aseparate exhibition hall displaying Yi In-mun's Streams and Mountains without End and Sim Sa-jeong's Around Shu (Treasure No. 1986; Kansong ArtMuseum) show a 30-meter-long scanned image from Streams and Mountains without End. The 4.6 billion pixel image allows an ideal environment for the appreciation of the scenes. Clear sounds of nature created by the sound artist Kim Jun are emitted on 15 channels to create a strong sense of atmosphere as well.

The space for the third part of the exhibition uses digital images to present Buddhist temples, pavilions, large Buddhist hanging scrolls, and other immovable or heavy artifacts that have been newly designated but could not be physically brought to the exhibition for practical reasons.

As part of the social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, an online reservation system is being appliedfor the exhibition: The number of visitors is limited to 200 every two hours during the opening hours of the museum (from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

The exhibition can also be enjoyed online by those who cannot make it in person to the museum or as an alternative if the museum must be closed due to developments in the COVID-19 situation. Online exhibitions organized according to various themes are being uploaded to the official webpage of the National Museum and on its social media. Thirty exhibits selected by the Cultural Heritage Administration are being made public through the online gallery of the Korean search engine Daum (http://gallery.v.daum.net). Also found online are video clips in which the heads of the Cultural Heritage Administration and National Museum of Korea (respectively Administrator ChungJae-suk and Director General Bae Ki-dong) provide information on the exhibition and artifacts being displayed.

Online lectures on Treasures and National Treasuresare being planned (three times, respectively on July 29, August 5, and August13). The lectures will be aired live on the National Museum's YouTube channel so that people can ask questions and engage in real-time discussions with the lecturer.

In addition, an online recreation challenge is held. People are invited to select 10 out of the 83 artifacts displayed at the exhibition and reproduce them in their own way. Three winners of a small gift arechosen every Monday.

This exhibition is jointly organized by the two leading heritage authorities of Korea—the Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Museum of Korea—for the purpose of expanding the public opportunities to appreciate Treasures and National Treasures as the foremost material evidence of the essence of the nation's artistic, aesthetic, and cultural achievements.

Held three years after the 2017 exhibition displaying new Treasures and National Treasures designated from 2014–2016, this exhibitionis expected to provide an ideal occasion for people to ponder the significance and meaning of cultural heritage in Korea. It is hoped that a viewing of theseTreasures and National Treasures will offer comfort to people during these difficult times of the COVID-19 outbreak.

* The exhibition period is subject to change dependingon the COVID-19 situation. Before visiting, please refer to the webpage of the National Museum (www.museum.go.kr).