Former National Assembly Member Sohn Hye-won Donates Najeonchilgi and Exhibition Space to Mokpo City

Late Kim Bong-ryong and Kim Tae-hee Donate Works... Including Pieces Never Before Publicly Shown

Son Hye-won: "Mokpo Is My Second Hometown to Devote My Final Life To"

Mokpo City held a donation ceremony on the 17th with former lawmaker Son Hye-won’s side for the modern and contemporary mother-of-pearl lacquerware collection, receiving high-quality mother-of-pearl lacquerware artworks and building land as a free donation.

The mother-of-pearl lacquerware artworks donated to Mokpo City this time include a total of 233 pieces, including works by the late Kim Bong-ryong and Kim Tae-hee, who are representative modern and contemporary mother-of-pearl lacquerware artisans, as well as 9 parcels of land and buildings, estimated to be worth about 5 billion KRW.

(On the right) Former lawmaker Son Hye-won donated Najeonchilgi to Mokpo City.
[Photo by Reader]

Among these, notable works include “Sansugwe,” a representative piece by Jeon Seong-gyu, a legend of modern Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware, and works by the late Kim Bong-ryong and Kim Tae-hee, designated as Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea.

The late Kim Bong-ryong and Kim Tae-hee are considered masters among masters representing Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware, and their works are regarded as priceless.

Former National Assembly member Son Hye-won felt regret upon seeing an exhibition held at the National Museum of Korea in 2006, realizing that outstanding works from various periods of Korea were being borrowed from abroad.

Since then, she has been collecting domestic and international mother-of-pearl lacquerware works for 18 years with the goal of donating them to a museum in the future.

The collection includes over 300 pieces in total, such as a Joseon Dynasty official uniform box purchased through the Christie's auction in New York, about 100 works from the Joseon Dynasty, and representative works that embody the history of modern and contemporary mother-of-pearl lacquerware.

Additionally, the Crosspoint Cultural Foundation has expressed its intention to donate the land and modern buildings it has purchased within the modern historical district to Mokpo City for future public use, and related administrative procedures are expected to proceed.

Supporters of former lawmaker Sohn Hye-won are cheering. [Photo by Reader]

Former National Assembly member Son Hye-won stated, “Mokpo preserves the value of modern times well, and I was captivated by this aspect, so I selected modern and contemporary artifacts for the first donation.”

She also added, “Mokpo is my second hometown where I will devote the rest of my life. I am fully prepared to dedicate everything so that Mokpo can develop and its citizens can be happy. This donation is the beginning of that.”

Mokpo City plans to proceed with administrative procedures such as appraisal and shared property review.

Furthermore, through the donation of mother-of-pearl lacquerware artworks, cultural tourism resources have become more diverse, and a roadmap will be promoted to utilize the modern historical cultural space as a hot place to attract tourists in the future.

Mayor Park Hong-ryul said, “We are very honored to receive the mother-of-pearl lacquerware artworks that former National Assembly member Son Hye-won has carefully collected as a free donation,” and added, “We will preserve representative mother-of-pearl lacquerware works from each era well, maintain cultural heritage, and utilize them as assets for the citizens.”

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