Promotion of the Establishment of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sparked by the 'Lee Kun-hee Collection'

Over 400 Figures in the Korean Art World Launch 'Group of People Who Want the National Museum of Modern Art'
No National Museum Advocating 'Modernity' Experienced Through Japanese Colonialism, Civil War, and Western Domination of Civilization

1,369 Korean Modern and Contemporary Artworks Donated by the Samsung Family to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
Includes Works by Famous Artists from the Modern Period
Seoul Jongno-gu Songhyeon-dong Site and Government Seoul Office in Sejong-ro Recommended as Museum Construction Sites

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The government announced that it will unveil a plan for the construction of a museum related to the so-called ‘Lee Kun-hee Collection’ donation around next month. This has become a hot topic in the art world, with keen interest in what kind of museum will emerge.

Various regions across the country are emphasizing their ties with the Samsung family or are fiercely competing for hosting rights based on the dichotomy of ‘capital area versus provinces.’ Serious discussions from the perspective of Korean art history are hard to find. Meanwhile, a movement within the art community to urge the establishment of a National Museum of Modern Art is gaining momentum, drawing close attention.

This is "Hwanyeongjeon Peony (1930s)" by Na Hye-seok, one of the Korean modern art donations from Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Korea does not have a national museum that specifically represents ‘modern’ art. Modern art is managed at the Deoksugung branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, which opened in 1969. Deoksugung has only four exhibition rooms across three floors. Its sole first-floor storage room is small, so it operates focusing solely on exhibitions rather than preservation or restoration. An art industry insider lamented, "Korea is the only country where the parent (modern) lives in a rented room inside the child’s (contemporary) house."

Advanced museums overseas are different. Major countries clearly distinguish and manage periods such as pre-modern, modern, contemporary, and temporary. Representative modern art museums include France’s Mus?e d’Orsay, the UK’s Tate Britain, Japan’s National Museum of Modern Art, and 20th-century art museums in Germany and Italy. These museums establish their own unique modern periods and focus on collecting, preserving, researching, educating, exhibiting, and exchanging artworks born during these times.

The period referred to as ‘modern’ in Korean art history is debated among scholars but generally spans from the mid-19th century to the 1960s. During this time, Korea experienced turbulent history including Japanese colonial rule, civil war, and the Western dominance of civilization. Reflecting this era, many Korean modern artworks embody a spirit of resistance or experiment with various changes through the adoption of Western techniques.

The Samsung family donated 1,369 Korean modern and contemporary artworks to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The collection includes works by 238 artists, featuring notable modern artists such as Park Soo-keun (1914?1965), Jang Uk-jin (1917?1990), Kwon Jin-gyu (1922?1973), and Yoo Young-guk (1916?2002). Among these are rare modern artworks that have been difficult to see even within the art community, such as ‘Hwanyeong Jeonjak’ (1930s) by Korea’s first female Western-style painter Na Hye-sok (1896?1948), ‘Paradise’ (1937) by Baek Nam-soon (1904?1994), a female painter and mentor to Lee Jung-seop, and ‘Boy’ (1929), one of only four surviving oil paintings by Kim Jong-tae (1906?1935).

The art community regards the Samsung family’s donation of the Lee Kun-hee Collection as a historic opportunity to establish a National Museum of Modern Art and is urging the government to take active steps. In this spirit, over 400 figures from the Korean art world, including Dansaekhwa master Park Seo-bo and artists Seo Seung-won, Han Man-young, and Kim Taek-sang, officially launched the ‘Association of People Who Want a National Museum of Modern Art’ yesterday. They argue that the approximately 1,000 modern artworks donated by the Samsung family and the roughly 2,000 modern artworks held by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art should be combined to build a National Museum of Modern Art.

Jeon Jun-mo, former chief curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, is holding a seminar on the necessity of establishing the National Museum of Modern Art on the 27th at the Korea Publishing Culture Center in Sagan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Jung Jun-mo, former chief curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, who participated in the association, stated, "Because Korea experienced Japanese colonial rule, this period’s culture was regarded as shameful, resulting in self-denial of our modern art that appeared before and after that time," and added, "It is now necessary to build a National Museum of Modern Art to redefine and establish our modern era." Art critic and Professor Kim Bok-gi of Kyonggi University emphasized the need for the museum, saying, "Modern art can serve as a focal point in inter-Korean relations. Currently, the gap between South and North Korean art is so wide that they hardly meet, but the heterogeneity of the contemporary period can be resolved through the homogeneity of the modern period."

The association recommended the site recently transferred to Seoul City ownership in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and the Government Seoul Office located in Sejong-ro as potential locations for the National Museum of Modern Art. The site selection was led by Hong Jae-seung, adjunct professor at Hongik University and designer of the Jeju Kim Chang-ryul Museum.

The Songhyeon-dong site is proposed to be used as a park preserving its original form as much as possible, with plans to utilize the underground space. If Seoul City provides the underground usage rights of the Songhyeon-dong site to the National Museum of Modern Art (government) free of charge, the state would bear the construction costs with government budget to build the museum. An alternative plan suggests that a private entity could cover construction costs by establishing a duty-free shop underground and using it for 20 years. For the Government Seoul Office, a plan to utilize 10 of the total 19 floors by vertically opening them is under consideration.

The association criticized the so-called ‘Lee Kun-hee Museum’ hosting competition currently underway nationwide as an improper approach. Jung Jun-mo pointed out, "Looking at the distribution of the Lee Kun-hee Collection, it includes a wide variety of types from ancient art to paintings, sculptures, and prints," and remarked, "If these are gathered all at once like a comprehensive gift set, it would become a ridiculous form that is neither a museum nor an art gallery."

The site in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, proposed as a candidate location for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art by the group "People Who Want the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art."

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