The National Museum of Korea is ready to reopen, with its largest-ever collection of national treasures on show. The Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Museum of Korea have combined to organise the “National Treasures of Korea” exhibit, running from now until September 27.
The new exhibit will showcase cultural artefacts that have been designated as National Treasures during the period between 2017 and 2019. The exhibition will be streamed online on Tuesday before cultural institutions’ set reopening date of Wednesday 29.
“This summer exhibition is the largest-ever public show of treasures and national treasures,” NMK Director-General Bae Ki-dong said during the conference held at the National Museum in Seoul on Monday.
The exhibition will showcase a total of 196 items, including 83 of the 157 treasures and national treasures designated between 2017 and 2019. Any structures and heavy or immovable objects will be demonstrated through various video clips.
“Owners of the artefacts were happy to allow us to exhibit the items. We are not able to exhibit some of the paintings for the duration of the exhibition period, so we will replace them with other paintings. We recommend visitors visit at least twice to enjoy the different paintings,” Bae added.
“I especially want to express my gratitude toward the Kansong Art Museum and the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (for their cooperation),” head of CHA Chung Jae-suk said.
The exhibition is separated into three separate sections: Documenting History, Flourishing Art, and Embodying Wishes. The first section presents an array of documentary heritage items on the history of Korea. The second showcases a diverse range of artefacts that offer a glimpse into the traditional perspective on beauty. The third section of the exhibition provides a space to explore artefacts related to Buddhism, the religion over 15 per cent of the population follow.
In order to comply with the Health Ministry’s rules on social distancing, the museum will only open to 200 visitors every two hours. Guests are required to pre-book their visit online, to ensure the museum doesn’t have a backlog of guests queuing to get in.
