Shin Yunbok's 'Miindo' and 'Hunminjeongeum Haerye Bon' Go Out

Transfer of 98 Works for Daegu Gansong Art Museum Opening Exhibition
Opening of Exhibition on September 3

National Treasure No. 70 Hunminjeongeum Haerye and Treasure No. 1973 Shin Yunbok's "Portrait of a Beauty," along with 98 representative national cultural heritage items from the Kansong Art Museum, have embarked on a tour outside Seoul. This is for the opening exhibition of the Daegu Kansong Art Museum scheduled for September.

Portrait of a Beauty, Shin Yun-bok, Colored on Silk, 113.9*45.6 cm, Late 18th Century.
[Photo by Gansong Art Museum]

On the 5th, Daegu City announced that on the 2nd, 98 artifacts, including national treasures and treasures planned for exhibition, were secretly and safely transported from the Kansong Art Museum in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, with escort cooperation from the National Police Agency (Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Highway Patrol, Daegu Police Agency, etc.).

The cultural heritage items transported to the Daegu Kansong Art Museum in Suseong-gu, Daegu, include the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, National Treasure No. 68 Celadon Inlaid Cloud and Crane Pattern Maebyeong Vase, Treasure No. 1973 Shin Yunbok's "Portrait of a Beauty," among 98 pieces. After conservation treatment and exhibition preparation, the Daegu Kansong Art Museum plans to open to visitors simultaneously with its grand opening in September.

This transfer of cultural heritage is the largest scale since the establishment of the Kansong Art Museum in 1938. In particular, the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, which has only been exhibited in Seoul for over 50 years since its first public display in 1971, is moving to another city for the first time, embarking on its first outing for the Daegu Kansong Art Museum opening exhibition.

The Daegu Kansong Art Museum was constructed with a total project cost of 44.6 billion KRW, starting in 2022 and completed last April. It has a total floor area of 8,003㎡, with one basement floor and three above-ground floors. It features six exhibition spaces including a planned exhibition hall, media room, and permanent exhibition hall.

A total of 98 national cultural heritage items, including national treasures and treasures, to be exhibited at the opening exhibition of Daegu Gansong Museum, are being transported to Daegu Gansong Museum (located in Suseong-gu, Daegu) on the morning of the 3rd.
[Photo by Daegu City]

The Hunminjeongeum Haerye, making its debut in Daegu this time, was acquired in 1940 by Mr. Jeon Hyeongpil (1906-1962), founder of Kansong, who purchased it from Korean literature scholar Kim Tae-jun and his disciple Lee Yong-jun in Andong. It was kept hidden from public view until liberation to avoid Japanese surveillance and was first shown to the public after the Kansong Art Museum opened in October 1971. Mr. Jeon bought it for 11,000 won at the time, equivalent to the price of ten tile-roofed houses, and cherished it so much that even during the outbreak of the Korean War, he took it with him on his evacuation route, kept it under his pillow, and preserved it with great care.

"My heart is full of spring feelings, and with the tip of the brush, I conveyed not only the appearance but also the inner feelings (盤薄胸中萬化春, 筆端能言物傳神)." The "Portrait of a Beauty," in which Shin Yunbok passionately depicted a woman he deeply admired, also contains this sentiment in the painting's left-side inscription poem (題畵詩). This piece was also repatriated after having been smuggled to Japan; in the 1930s, Mr. Jeon Hyeongpil purchased it from an antique dealer in Osaka, Japan.

The Daegu Kansong Art Museum explained that many of the national treasure and treasure-level artifacts to be showcased at the opening exhibition are paper-based items vulnerable to humidity, so thorough pre-inspection is necessary even if it takes some time to prepare for the opening.

The Daegu Kansong Art Museum opening exhibition will run from September 3 to December 1. This exhibition will display 98 items from 41 national treasures and treasures owned by the Kansong Art and Cultural Foundation, along with 42 items from 18 Kansong personal effects.

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