The National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art announced that the first overseas tour exhibition of items donated by the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee, titled "Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared," will open at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., United States, on November 15, 2025.

Kim Whanki 'Sanullim 19-II-73#307' (1973). Courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

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This exhibition features a total of 172 works and 297 pieces, including Jeong Seon's "Inwangjesaekdo" from the National Museum of Korea's collection, 7 National Treasures, and 15 Treasures, as well as 24 representative works of modern and contemporary Korean art by artists such as Park Sookeun and Kim Whanki from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The National Museum of Asian Art postponed the exhibition opening once due to a temporary closure caused by a U.S. federal government shutdown, but with the resumption of federal government operations on November 12 (local time), the special exhibition is now set to open.

The National Museum of Asian Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution, was established in 1923 with the donation of Asian artworks by businessman and collector Charles Lang Freer. It is recognized as the first museum in the United States to exhibit Korean art.

In April 2021, the family of the late Lee Kun-hee, former Chairman of Samsung Group, donated approximately 21,000 pieces from his collection to the National Museum of Korea and around 1,000 pieces to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Over the past four years, both institutions have made various efforts to honor this noble donation and to ensure that these valuable cultural assets can be enjoyed by everyone. The National Museum of Korea published 14 volumes of catalogues by category (totaling over 3,000 pages) and made the entire collection available on its e-museum platform, while the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art published a catalogue of the Lee Kun-hee Collection spanning more than 900 pages.

Park Soo-keun, Nongak (1960s). Courtesy of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

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To allow more people to appreciate and enjoy the donated works, the two museums began with an introductory exhibition of the first donated items in 2021. In 2022, they held the special exhibition "An Invitation from a Collector" at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, which attracted 250,000 visitors. The exhibition then toured the National Museum's branches in Gwangju, Daegu, Cheongju, Jeju, and Chuncheon, surpassing a cumulative total of 1.16 million visitors. The first exhibition of the Lee Kun-hee Collection at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul in 2021 also drew 250,000 visitors despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent tours in ten cities, including Gyeongnam, Busan, Ulsan, Gyeonggi, and Jeonnam, brought the cumulative audience to 1.46 million (a combined total of 2.62 million for both institutions). Thanks to this enthusiastic public response, the newly curated exhibition will now tour major museums in the United States and the United Kingdom, reaching a global audience.

This exhibition is a large-scale special exhibition of Korean culture held at the Korean galleries of major museums in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is the result of long-standing collaboration through the National Museum of Korea's "Korean Gallery Support Project" with leading museums in these countries. Since discussions began in 2021, support agreements for Korean galleries were signed with the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022 and the National Museum of Asian Art in 2023. After the exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art concludes, the tour will continue at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2026 and at the British Museum (which signed a support agreement in 2020).

Eungno Lee's "Group" (1985). Courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

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The deep cooperative relationship between the National Museum of Korea and Smithsonian museums began in 1961 with the loan of Korean gallery collections to the National Museum of Natural History. This was followed by the "Five Thousand Years of Korean Art" exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History in 1981, the "18th Century Korean Art" exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art in 1994, the renovation of the Korean Gallery in 2011, the "Korean Buddhist Sculpture" exhibition in 2019, and the "Korean Chimi" exhibition in 2022, among others. To ensure the highest quality and safe operation of the overseas tour exhibitions at the National Museum of Asian Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, curatorial staff from the National Museum of Korea have been dispatched to work closely with local institutions.

This exhibition showcases the creativity and innovation of Korean art spanning several centuries, from the Three Kingdoms period to the 20th century.

It is organized into ten thematic sections. Beginning with a look at Korea’s collecting culture through the Choson dynasty’s chaekgado folding screens, the exhibition explores important themes in Korean cultural history as revealed through a wide range of collected artworks.

Books, paintings, furniture, and other collectibles that filled the seowon (Confucian academies) and sarangbang (scholars’ studies) during the Choson dynasty offer a glimpse into the restrained and humble lives and spiritual worlds of Confucian scholars. In contrast, the splendid royal art reveals the history, traditions, and Buddhist beliefs of the Choson royal family. The Buddhist art section highlights the vitality of Buddhism as a religion that has permeated Korean history, featuring gilt-bronze Buddhas from the Three Kingdoms period, ornate illuminated sutras from the Goryeo dynasty, and powerful Buddhist paintings from the Choson dynasty.

In addition, visitors can trace the development of Korean ceramic techniques, from Goryeo celadon to Choson blue-and-white porcelain, through a variety of collected ceramics that transcend boundaries. The paintings from the Choson dynasty to the modern era demonstrate the evolution and trends of Korean art. The exhibition concludes with a space that reinterprets the Choson dynasty’s chaekgado folding screens, reflecting on Korea’s collecting traditions.

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The 172 works and 297 pieces from the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s donation, now part of the National Museum of Korea’s collection, represent quintessential examples of Korean cultural identity. Highlights among Choson dynasty calligraphy and paintings include Jeong Seon's "Inwangjesaekdo," the "Chaekgado" screens illustrating the collecting culture of scholars, Lee Myeonggi's "Portrait of Jo Hangjin," which captures the inner spiritual world, and Kim Hongdo's "Chuseongbudo," depicting the principles of nature. The "Irworobakdo," which gained renewed fame through "K-Pop Demon Hunters," and the "Worinseokbo," which showcases the history and artistry of Hangul as well as royal Buddhist beliefs, are also noteworthy.

In the field of Buddhist art, the exhibition presents the "Gilt-bronze Triad of Bodhisattvas" from the Three Kingdoms period, the Goryeo dynasty’s "Avatamsaka Sutra, Volume 15," written and painted in gold, and Choson dynasty works such as "Sajiksa Jado" and "Beopgodae," which illustrate Buddhist faith and rituals, offering a comprehensive overview of Korean Buddhist culture. In ceramics, the "Celadon Bowl Inlaid with Cloud and Crane Design," representing the inlay technique and celadon color of Goryeo, the "White Porcelain Bowl Inscribed with Cheon, Ji, Hyeon, Hwang" representing Choson white porcelain, and the "Blue and White Porcelain Bottle with Landscape Design," where form and painting are harmoniously combined, are among the featured pieces.

The exhibition also features modern and contemporary masterpieces from the Lee Kun-hee Collection donated to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, reflecting the turbulent history of 20th-century Korea and transcending tradition. The selected works consider the historical context of Korean art from multiple perspectives, highlighting innovations in traditional Korean painting, reinterpretations and creative fusions of Western painting and sculpture genres, and trends of active reinterpretation of tradition, including works by female artists, thus introducing the diverse layers of contemporary Korean art. The exhibition includes masterpieces by renowned artists such as Park Sookeun’s "Nongak" (1960s), Lee Eungno’s "Composition" (1964), Kim Whanki’s "Sanullim" (1973), Baek Namsoon’s eight-panel folding screen "Paradise" (1936) measuring 3.7 meters, Kim Byungki’s seven-panel series "Mountains" (1967) spanning 6.4 meters, Lee Sangbeom’s "14 Scenic Views of Mount Geumgang" (1930s), Chae Yongshin’s "Portrait of an Old Woman" (1932), Byun Gwansik’s "Nine Dragon Falls of Mount Geumgang" (1960s), as well as works showcasing new media and experimental efforts by Park Laehyun ("Work," 1971), Park Saengkwang ("Musok 3," 1980), and Jung Kwangho ("Leaves," 1997), among others-a total of 24 pieces. These works demonstrate the intense process by which Korean culture and art of the 20th century sought new visual languages by combining Western influences with experiences of modern and contemporary history.

Following the 7 National Treasures (16 pieces) including Jeong Seon’s "Inwangjesaekdo," and the 15 Treasures (26 pieces) such as Kim Hongdo’s "Chuseongbudo" and "Worinseokbo," as well as over 330 works including Kim Whanki’s "Sanullim," Park Saengkwang’s "Work," and Lee Eungno’s "Group," visitors can experience the essence of Korean traditional art. In conjunction with the exhibition, an international symposium on Korean art and collecting is scheduled for January 22-23 next year.

As American visitors increasingly show interest in Korean pop culture, including K-Pop, films, and dramas, this exhibition offers an opportunity to rediscover the origins of K-culture by exploring Korea’s traditional cultural heritage and contemporary art, and to experience the enduring power and innovation of Korean culture that bridges past and present. For the first time at an overseas exhibition, popular cultural products from the National Museum Foundation-such as Inwangjesaekdo-themed fans and lighting, Goryeo celadon and moon jar keyrings, and miniature statues of the Pensive Bodhisattva-will also be showcased.

Park Raehyun, Work (1971). Courtesy of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

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After closing on February 1 next year, the exhibition will leave Washington, D.C. and move to the Art Institute of Chicago, the heart of the American Midwest, where it will be held from March 7 to July 5. The exhibition will then cross the Atlantic to the British Museum in London, where it will run from September 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027. In Chicago and London, the exhibition will be partly reconfigured and presented in diverse ways to reflect local audiences and the characteristics of each venue.

Yoo Hongjun, Director of the National Museum of Korea, stated, "As this exhibition, which begins in Washington, D.C., continues to Chicago and London, we hope that the creativity and artistry of Korean culture, as the origin of K-culture, will be widely shared with people around the world. This exhibition will serve as a platform for global audiences to connect with Korea’s history, spirit, and timeless aesthetic values through its cultural heritage."

Kim Sunghee, Director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, commented, "This meaningful exhibition demonstrates that Korean culture and art, while rooted in tradition, are advancing in new directions that embrace historical diversity and hybridity. The two national institutions-the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art-are joining forces to present Korean culture and art to audiences across Washington, D.C., Chicago, and London."