National Museum of Asian Art Announces Large-scale Korean Art Exhibition

The Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) recently announced that it will host the first exhibition of American masterpieces by former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee this fall.

“Korean Treasures” will house more than 200 projects for 1,500 years, including twelve national treasures designated by the South Korean government, as well as many items on display for the first time in the United States.

“This is very popular in Korea and I think this show will attract people’s interest,” said Sunwoo Hwang, the first Korean arts and culture curator at NMAA. Artnews. “We are excited to introduce the diversity, depth and breadth of Korean art in the Lee Kun-Hee series.”

The exhibition will be organized by the Chicago Institute of Art (AIC), the National Museum and the Korean Museum of Modern Modern Art (MMCA), and the exhibition will feature a wide variety of objects including ancient Buddhist sculptures, ceramics, paintings, paintings, furniture, furniture and modern masterpieces.

“Korean Treasure” will also be the largest and most comprehensive introduction to Korean art ever on the NMAA before heading to the AIC and British Museum.

“So, although this is a travel exhibition, each institution has its own unique explanation,” Huang told Artnews. “I think it’s possible because the series is so big that we are able to make choices and our partners allow us to do that.”

Nine items borrowed from the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul will also be exhibited only in the NMAA.

“Ultimately, our venue is the most object choice,” Huang said with a smile, noting the size of objects ranging from water droppers to large screen paintings and modern oil paintings on canvases.

Highlights include masterpieces Clear after rain (1751) by Jeong Seon, one of the largest paintings of the Joseph period, 7.4 feet by 5 feet wide.

Huang said Clear after rain It is important for Korean art history because it depicts the actual landscape of Korea, rather than idealized or fictional landscapes. Zheng Zong is Real view landscape Genre and ink paintings portray the actual community where artists grew up.

“This is his birthplace, it is a famous mountain in Korea,” she said. This is the moment when the mountain starts to clear on the mountain, but the water has been soaked in the rocks. “I think a lot of Koreans are related to this painting because it’s the mountain they see a lot. They’re very familiar with it.”

The yellow man is also particularly excited about the display The plot of Buddha Shakyamuni’s life as a reflection of the moon (Worin Seokbo), Vol. 11, Woodblock prints of 1459, edited and edited by King Sejo (1417–1468). Joseon’s early works featured adjacent Chinese characters and Korean characters.

It is worth noting that King Sejo’s father, King Sejong, created Hangul, the Korean alphabet, and revealed it in 1443. “The Korean letter is special because it may just be the language we know, the creator and the date of creation,” Hwang explained.

“He wanted to create letters so that people could easily communicate in writing,” Huang said. “So, after creating this alphabetical system, the Josen Court actually published a lot of books and Buddhist texts as well.”

There is also a historical work of art in the “Korean Treasure” that has recently entered popular culture. Six-panel folding screen The sun, the moon and the five peaks Placed behind the Royal Throne during the Joseph Dynasty and debuted in popular Netflix movies KPOP Demon Hunter. The film significantly includes traditional Korean art and folklore.

“Because of the popularity of that animated film, more people started visiting [the NMAA],” Huang said, noting that she hadn’t seen it KPOP Demon Hunter However.

With the popularity of Korean culture, the yellow people have seen the opportunity to “Korean Treasure”, and the NMAA can attract more diverse tourists. “I think there was a time when Chinese culture was very popular and Japanese culture was very popular,” she said. “So I’m pretty sure that will keep going. But I think this opportunity really allows us to introduce Korean culture to a wider audience around the world.”

A collection of searches and draws from it

Lee Kun Hee’s collection includes over 23,000 works over seven decades and was donated to the Republic of Korea by Lee’s family in 2021.

Lee and his wife Hong Ra-Hee are at Artnews List of top 200 collectors in 2015 and 2016. Lee died in 2020.

Conversations about bringing massive exhibitions to Washington, the National Museum of Columbia and the Chicago Academy of Arts, which is looking for a venue. After the 2022 Korean Roof Tile Exhibition, NMAA has also established an existing relationship with the National Museum of Korea.

Huang said the existing relationship and enthusiastic support from NMAA director Chase F. Robinson allowed at least three research trips to South Korea to watch exhibitions in the collection of Lee Kun-Hee, which includes more than 23,000 projects.

Choosing “Korean Treasures” from such a large inventory is not easy, even with the existing list of these domestic exhibitions. Important resources for Hwang and her NMAA curatorial colleagues include the fast digitization and registration of Lee Kun-Hee Collection, an online directory that is easy to search online, a catalog of the National Museum of Korea for specific media, and a comprehensive catalog from Lee Kun-Hee Collection.

The “Korean Treasure” exhibition will be held at the NMAA from November 8 to February 1, 2026.

Editor’s note: August 15, 2025: Previous versions misspelled names Hong Ra-hee. Artnews regrets this error.