'Lee Kun-hee Collection' to Be Open to the Public Starting June

Samsung Family Donates 11,023 Items to National Museum of Korea and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
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Claude Monet's 'Pond with Water Lilies'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will open the so-called 'Lee Kun-hee Collection' donations to the public starting in June.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the Samsung family donated 11,023 pieces of artwork (approximately 23,000 items) owned by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee to the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The ministry plans to hold a 'Special Exhibition of Cultural Properties Owned by the Late Chairman Lee Kun-hee (tentative title)' starting in June to publicly display the donated items.

The National Museum of Korea will receive 9,797 items (about 21,600 pieces). Major donations include Gyeomjae Jeong Seon (1676?1759)'s "Inwangjesaekdo painted by Jeong Seon" (National Treasure No. 216), the only extant Goryeo-era "Goryeo Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Painting" (Treasure No. 2015), and Danwon Kim Hong-do (1757?circa 1806?)'s last painting "Chuseongbudo painted by Kim Hong-do" (Treasure No. 1393). The collection includes 60 nationally designated cultural properties (14 National Treasures and 46 Treasures) showcasing the essence of Korean culture. Additionally, it encompasses ceramics such as Unified Silla inhwa-patterned pottery, celadon, buncheong ware, and white porcelain, as well as calligraphy, books, Buddhist art, metal crafts, and stone artifacts, covering the full spectrum of Korean archaeology and art history.

Since its opening in 1946, the National Museum of Korea has collected over 430,000 cultural properties, including the current donation. Among these, about 50,000 items are donations. The approximately 20,000 artworks donated this time account for about 43% of all donated cultural properties.

Gyeomjae Jeong Seon's 'Inwang Jesaekdo (National Treasure No. 216)'

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will receive about 1,226 artworks (around 1,400 pieces). The donation includes approximately 460 representative Korean modern artworks by artists such as Kim Whanki, Na Hyesok, and Park Su-geun, as well as masterpieces by world-renowned masters including Monet, Gauguin, Renoir, Pissarro, Chagall, and Dal?.

Notably, paintings such as Lee Jung-seop's "Bull," Park Su-geun's "Woman Pounding Rice," Kim Whanki's "Women and Jars," Jang Uk-jin's "Girl/Boat," Monet's "Pond with Water Lilies," Joan Mir?'s "Composition," and Salvador Dal?'s "Family of Centaurs" make up the majority. Besides paintings, the collection also includes prints, sketches, crafts, and sculptures, comprehensively covering modern and contemporary art history.

Since its opening in 1969, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has collected over 12,000 works, including the current donation. Among these, about 5,400 are donations, and this donation of approximately 1,400 pieces is the largest ever.

Kim Whanki's 'Women and Jars'

The donation of the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee's collection has enriched the cultural assets of our museums and art galleries, laying a foundation to secure competitiveness comparable to renowned overseas museums.

In particular, for art museums, it is significant as an opportunity to reinforce modern artworks that were previously rare and difficult to collect. It is expected to play a major role in the exhibition and research of Korean modern art history. Additionally, museums, which mostly held excavated buried cultural properties, have received a well-rounded donation of various cultural properties including art, history, and crafts spanning all eras of Korean history, enabling exhibitions across archaeology, art history, and history fields.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official expressed, "Through exhibitions at 13 affiliated museums nationwide, traveling exhibitions at public museums and art galleries, we expect to enhance the cultural pride of the people, expand opportunities for cultural enjoyment, and promote excellent Korean culture overseas."

Lee Jung-seop's 'Bull'

The National Museum of Korea will begin displaying artifacts starting in June with a special exhibition titled 'Special Exhibition of Cultural Properties Owned by the Late Chairman Lee Kun-hee (tentative title),' showcasing selected representative donations. In October 2022, it will hold a 'Masterpieces Exhibition of Cultural Properties Owned by the Late Chairman Lee Kun-hee (tentative title)' featuring selected masterpieces from the donations. Furthermore, the museum plans to actively utilize the collection in exhibitions at 13 regional affiliated museums, Korean galleries in major overseas museums, and overseas exhibitions of Korean cultural properties to revitalize local culture and spread the image of Korea as a cultural powerhouse abroad.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will start with a 'Masterpieces Exhibition of Works Owned by the Late Chairman Lee Kun-hee (tentative title)' at its Seoul branch in August, followed by special and permanent exhibitions in Gwacheon in September and Cheongju in 2022. To allow more citizens to appreciate these precious art assets, special traveling exhibitions linked with regional public art galleries will be held, along with touring exhibitions at major overseas art museums to elevate the international status of Korean art.

Additionally, both institutions plan to digitize images of the donated items and make them available on their websites. They also plan to promote key representative works using digital images to overseas museums and art galleries. Related academic conferences will be held to explore the historical, artistic, and art historical value of the 'Lee Kun-hee donations.'

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee said, "We thank the family of the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee for donating the cultural properties and artworks he collected throughout his lifetime for the development of Korean culture and arts." He added, "This large-scale donation of nationally designated cultural properties and major artworks with high artistic and historical value is virtually the first of its kind in Korea and is unprecedented even overseas." Minister Hwang further stated, "This donation will contribute to the stable preservation of domestic cultural assets, enhance the public's right to enjoy culture, and revitalize regional museums and art galleries. It is also expected to have a synergistic effect on the planning and implementation of various government cultural projects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.