[Gallery Walk] White Porcelain Worth Fifteen Tile-Roofed Houses... An Exhibition Asking What Has Been Preserved

Kansong Art Museum’s “Cultural National Defense” Exhibition
Marking the 120th Anniversary of Kansong’s Birth, Shedding Light on the Shadows of the Modern Art Market and Kansong’s Resolve
46 Works on Display Including the National Treasure White

A piece of white porcelain sits inside the glass display case at the center of Bohwagak's second floor. This vase, adorned with chrysanthemums, orchids, and insects, is now a national treasure. However, what Kansong Art Museum’s “Cultural Defense of the Nation” exhibition first reveals is not the dignity of a national treasure, but the fact that this artifact once wandered in the middle of an auction floor with a price tag attached. This exhibition is not only a place to appreciate beauty, but also an opportunity to reflect on how what was nearly lost was ultimately saved.

White Porcelain with Blue Underglaze, Iron Red, Copper Green, and Figure of Insects and Orchids Vase. Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

The virtue of this exhibition, which opens on April 15, lies in the fact that it does not stop at being merely a “masterpiece show.” Kansong Art Museum brings the Kyungsung Art Club, established by Japanese antique dealers in 1922, to the forefront. Although it was the largest art trading institution in Joseon, in reality, it served as a passage through which Korean cultural heritage flowed into Japan. Until Korea’s liberation, more than 260 auctions were held, and Jeon Hyeong-pil, the founder of Kansong, participated in 32 auctions between 1930 and 1944, acquiring over 350 artifacts by employing Japanese intermediaries, as Koreans were effectively barred from entering. The exhibition prompts us to reinterpret these “records of purchase” as “records of protection.”

An article from Kyungsung Ilbo at the time. National Library of Korea

The most powerful moment comes in front of the “White Porcelain with Blue Underglaze, Iron Red, Copper Green, and Figure of Insects and Orchids Vase.” This vase, which uses all three pigments—blue underglaze, iron red, and copper green—was sold at the 1936 Kyungsung Art Club auction for 14,580 won, equivalent to the price of 15 tile-roofed houses at the time. Kansong won the piece after competing with the Japanese trading company Yamanaka Shokai. What is impressive about the exhibition is that it does not simply present the vase as an “expensive national treasure.” By displaying auction articles and records alongside the vase, viewing this piece of porcelain becomes an act of confronting both the crisis of its potential loss and the decisive insight that secured it. Here, one can witness the moment when a utilitarian porcelain vessel crosses over into the frontlines of cultural history.

The painting section on the second floor is also noteworthy. Kim Myeong-guk’s “Bigeup Jeongwan,” Sim Sa-jeong and Kang Se-hwang’s “Pyoheon Yeonhwa Album,” and Jang Seung-eop’s “Paljundo” are works that stand on their own merit. Yet, the exhibition does not simply line up works by famous artists. Instead, it quietly highlights that the core of Kansong’s collection was not about favoring particular artists or the tastes of a specific era, but about persistently preserving the entire flow of Joseon painting.

Kim Jonghee - Chimgye. Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

Especially notable is the “Pyoheon Yeonhwa Album,” where paintings and critiques appear together in a single frame, reviving not only the culture of art appreciation but also that of critical commentary. This demonstrates that the exhibition is not just a gathering of aesthetically pleasing pieces, but an act of restoring art history itself.

Descending to the first floor, the exhibition’s tone shifts once again. The narrative continues with calligraphy and paintings by Chusa Kim Jeong-hee and his school, as well as the stories of artworks recovered after being scattered in the aftermath of the Korean War. Here, “Cultural Defense of the Nation” expands beyond anecdotes of individual heroism or one-time acts of preservation, emphasizing the long and ongoing process of safeguarding cultural heritage. Kansong’s collecting becomes clearer as a relentless effort to reconnect a lost lineage, rather than merely a hobby of gathering fine objects.

Even the stone tiger statue outside Bohwagak does not appear to be mere decoration. The scene of the Qing Dynasty stone lion, which guarded the museum’s entrance for 88 years, being returned to China and replaced by a late Joseon stone tiger, reads like an annotation to the exhibition. To protect is not only to cling to what is one’s own, but also to return the heritage of others to its rightful place—an ethic that is integral to this exhibition. This is also why “Cultural Defense of the Nation” does not remain a mere slogan of outdated nationalism.

“Cultural Defense of the Nation” is not a flashy exhibition, but a resolute one. Instead of boasting about the value of the works, it persistently asks why that value was assigned and who bore the cost. Thus, what visitors take away in the end is a question weightier than the brilliance of any national treasure: What do we call beautiful? And to protect that beauty, what price are we willing to pay? Kansong Art Museum answers these questions not with the artworks themselves, but through history. The exhibition runs until June 14 and operates on a reservation-only basis.

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