"Establish National Museum of Modern Art and Install 'Lee Kun-hee Donation Room'... Art Community Seminar on 23rd"

Meeting of People Wanting the National 20C (Modern) Art Museum
at Press Center, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 23rd

The Group for the Establishment of the National 20th Century (Modern) Art Museum announced on the 21st that, together with the Korean Federation of Artists and the Korean Fine Arts Association, it will hold a seminar on the 23rd at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, to discuss the establishment of the 'National Modern Art Museum.'

Site plan for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. ?Hong Jae-seung [Photo provided by the Association for the Construction of the National 20C Museum]

This group was launched on May 27, 2021. In January, it held the 'National Researchers Forum for the Establishment of the National Modern Art Museum,' advocating the necessity of building a modern art museum responsible for Korean modern art.

The seminar will feature an opening address by Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Following this, Lee Won-bok, former curator of the National Museum of Korea, will deliver a keynote speech titled 'The Reason for the Existence of the National Modern Art Museum - A Comprehensive Recognition of Korean Art,' and Akira Tatehata, Chairman of the Japan National Museum Association, will present a keynote titled 'Suggestions for Completing the History of Korean Modern Art' (tentative).

Jung Jun-mo, the group's standing secretary and director of the Korean Art Appraisal Research Center, emphasized, "Even after 80 years since liberation, there has been no institution to research, collect, exhibit, and educate on Korean modern art." He added, "Now, following the development of museology, our country must establish the 'Republic of Korea National 20th Century Art Museum' to newly approach modernity based on the humanities and lay the foundation for a future advanced Korea."

The seminar will be moderated by Cho Eun-jung, invited professor of art history at Korea University, and will include keynote presentations: 'The Reason for the Existence of the National Modern Art Museum - A Comprehensive Recognition of Korean Art' by Lee Won-bok (art historian, former curator of the National Museum of Korea), and 'Suggestions for Completing the History of Korean Modern Art' by Akira Tatehata (art critic, dean of Tama Art University, chairman of the Japan National Museum Association, director of Kusama Yayoi Art Museum).

Following these, presentations will include ▲ 'Korean Modernity, an Unfinished Project' (Kim Bok-gi, professor at Kyonggi University) ▲ 'From Collection to Museum, Commitment to Art History: The Case of European Modern Art Museums' (Kim Han-gyeol) ▲ and 'Practical Proposals for the Establishment of the National 20th Century Art Museum or National Modern Art Museum' (Jung Jun-mo, art critic).

The Group for the Establishment of the National 20th Century (Modern) Art Museum was launched in 2021 with 380 founding members from the art world, including gallery representatives, curators, critics, and artists. They advocate for the establishment of the National Modern Art Museum, which would house modern works from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the modern pieces from the 'Lee Kun-hee Collection.'

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