The British Museum will hold an art exhibition featuring works from the collection of Lee Kun-hee, the late chairman of the Samsung empire, from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31, 2027.
Co-organized by Korea's National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), the "Korea: 2,000 years of Creativity" exhibition will take place at the central London museum as the third stop of the exhibit's global tour, following stops in Washington and Chicago.
“While the earlier U.S. exhibition focused on the late Samsung Chairman Lee’s donation to the nation and public access to art, the latest exhibition turns its attention to Korea itself, as its title indicates,” the MMCA said Monday in a press release. “It traces the country’s history in search of the essence of Korean culture.”
Poster for the overseas tour of the Lee Kun-hee Collection held at the British Museum, dubbed "Korea: 2,000 years of Creativity"NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
The exhibition will feature nearly 200 items, including 15 artworks byleading Korean modern and contemporary artists Kim Whanki, Park Soo-keun, Chang Ucchin and Nam June Paik from the collection of the MMCA, as well as 164 works from the National Museum of Korea’s collection.
The exhibition will also showcase state-designated cultural heritage, including 27 National Treasures and 23 Treasures. Among them, the bronze artifacts from Bisan-dong, Daegu, a National Treasure, will be shown for the first time as part of the tour.
The British leg of the tour will also newly present seven works that were not included in the U.S. exhibitions, such as Park No-soo’s “Sanjeongdo” (1960) and Paik’s “Brahms” (1993)
The exhibition will be held at the museum’s Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery, where visitors will be able to trace more than 2,000 years of Korean history through artworks and artifacts from different periods.
Titled “Wealth and Power,” the first section will showcase artworks and artifacts from the early Iron Age through the Unified Silla (668-935) era. It will be followed by “Wisdom and Beauty,” which will showcase items from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392); “Learning and Pleasure,” which will feature works from the Joseon era (1392-1910); and “Individuality and Community,” which will present works spanning the Korean Empire (1897–1910) to the present day.
“We are seeing a sharp increase in the number of international visitors to the museum, which makes us feel more than ever how strong interest in Korean contemporary art has become,” said Yoon Tae-wook, acting director of MMCA.
“We hope this touring exhibition, like the successful exhibitions in Washington and Chicago, will resonate with audiences in Britain and across Europe and become a meaningful opportunity to showcase the strength of Korean art and culture.”
