Korea's traditional calligraphy and painting recast at national museum

Home > Culture > Arts & Design

Korea's traditional calligraphy and painting recast at national museum

Published: 25 Feb. 2026, 17:14 Updated: 25 Feb. 2026, 18:34

JIN EUN-SOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Jeong Seon's "Bakyeon Falls" is on display at the newly renovated Calligraphy and Painting Gallery at the National Museum of Korea on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

The National Museum of Korea has renovated and is reopening its exhibition hall dedicated to seohwa, a genre combining painting and calligraphy that was widely enjoyed by the yangban (members of the traditional ruling class) during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910).

Although it is part of the museum’s permanent exhibition, the renewed gallery will feature rotating special displays to encourage repeat visits.

"Those who love paintings will have a reason to come by the museum whenever the season changes and enjoy a lovely time here," You Hong-june, the director of the museum, said to the press on Wednesday.

Works of Jeong Seon are on display at the newly renovated Caligraphy and Painting Gallery at the National Museum of Korea on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

Seohwa, created with delicate hanji (traditional Korean paper) and ink, has traditionally been limited to exhibition periods of about three months. Displays must inevitably be rotated to prevent damage to the artworks.

The national museum will continue that practice while also organizing rotating special exhibitions under specific themes three or four times a year. The special exhibition will serve as an opportunity for people to see works that rarely go on view to the public, according to the museum.

"Loan of some artworks at this exhibition was possible because it was the National Museum of Korea that requested it," You said. "Because the individual collectors trust our reputation and how we protect the artworks."
The first edition of the special exhibition is “Jeong Seon: O, Our Majestic Land!” which homes in on the works of Jeong Seon (1676-1759), a renowned painter from the Joseon era known for majestic landscape paintings of Korea with elegant yet bold strokes of black ink. The exhibition will run through April 26, followed by shows spotlighting works by Kim Hong-do and Kim Jung-hee, as well as paintings from the late Joseon period.

One highlight from the Jeong Seon exhibition is "Bakyeon Falls," which vividly captures the vertical plunge of the waterfall located in Kaesong, North Korea. In the painting, Jeong emphasizes the sublime beauty of the fall by maximizing the size of the fall vertically while minimizing the size of the people and pavilion nearby.

"Bakyeon Falls," presumed to be drawn by Jeong when he was in his 70s after the peak of his career, was rarely shown to the public. It is the first time it will go on display at the National Museum of Korea.

The exhibition also includes "Visiting a Friend through the Snow," drawn by Jo Yeong-seok, who is known to be a close friend of Jeong. This work, also owned by a private collector, is going on view at the museum for the first time.

Calligraphy works of Han Ho are on display at the newly renovated Calligraphy and Painting Gallery at the National Museum of Korea on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

Calligraphy is another main pillar of the exhibition. In fact, a section dedicated to calligraphy is the first space to greet visitors at the newly renovated exhibition hall.

This section focuses on how the yangban literati and the kings of the Joseon Dynasty practiced calligraphy in various forms, including letters, poems and stele inscriptions. Calligraphy at the time was regarded as a reflection of one's mind — a gateway into one's philosophy and internal thoughts.

Among the highlights are a poem written by King Jeongjo (1752-1800) for his trusted official Seo Hyeong-su upon his dispatch to a distant post, expressing the king’s sorrow on vibrant red silk, and a collection of works by renowned calligrapher Han Ho, better known as Han Seokbong, showcasing a wide range of script styles.

“Calligraphy can feel distant to modern audiences, so we organized the exhibition around renowned calligraphers and historical figures familiar to many visitors so they can approach it more easily,” the museum said.

Under such effort, the museum, using 3-D printing technology, has reenacted various stele inscriptions found from the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) to the Joseon era, on what's called "Wall of Stele Inscriptions" at the end of the first display room.

Visitors take a look around the newly renovated Calligraphy and Painting Gallery at the National Museum of Korea on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

The fourth and final room features paintings created not purely for aesthetic appreciation but for specific purposes. On display are portraits produced for documentary record, as well as works intended to project the monarch’s authority or convey wishes for longevity.

A colorful rendition of "Sun, Moon and Five Peaks" by an unidentified painter — traditionally installed in spaces closely associated with the king — is on display alongside paintings of a tiger, also by unknown artists, believed to ward off evil spirits, in this section.

The newly renovated Calligraphy and Painting Gallery opens to the public on Thursday.

"Visiting a Friend through the Snow" drawn by Jo Yeong-seok, a close friend to Jeong Seon, is on display at the newly renovated Calligraphy and Painting Gallery at the National Museum of Korea on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]