Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul is always crowded with visitors. Many of them head to a special art exhibition titled "The Treasures of Kansong Part 2: Bohwagak (葆華閣)" to catch a rare chance to appreciate masterpieces of Korean art history in one place.



Bohwagak is the previous name of Kansong Art Museum, the first private museum in Korea built in 1938 by Chun Hyung-pil (1906-1962). It was named by Chun’s master Oh Se-chang (1864-1953). It was later renamed Kangsong Museum in 1966.

In the past, Kansong Art Museum held exhibitions only twice a year – in spring and autumn. During the exhibition, the neighborhood was often surrounded by long queues of people who had gathered from everywhere to see it. In the case of "A Beauty" by Shin Yun-bok (1758-unknown), one of the most famous painters of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the museum has opened the painting to the public only twice thus far, in 2008 and 2011. That means the painting has gone on an outing only once in the 76 years since the museum began.

The first part of the exhibition opened in March this year. During that first event of 77 days, about 120,000 people visited the exhibition. The first part of the exhibition focused more on the life of the museum founder Chun Hyung-pil and stories behind his collection of cultural relics. The second part included a selected collection of the most well-known, iconic artworks that characterize the history of Korean art from as early as the Three Kingdom’s Period (57 B.C.-AD 935) to the 19th century.

A total of 114 works of art are on display in this exhibition. Some of the must-see pieces include paintings such as "A Beauty" and "Album of Genre Paintings" by Shin Yun-bok, "Yellow Cat Romps with Butterfly" by Kim Hong-do (1745-1806), "Three Men Questioning Age" by Jang Seung-eop (1843-1897) and "Panoramic View of Inner Pungak" by Jeong Seon (1667-1759). Apart from paintings, the exhibition also houses important Buddhist sculptures such as "Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha Triad Inscribed with Gyemi Year" and works of calligraphy, including "Drinking Tea to Reach Zen" by Kim Jeong-hui (1786-1856). The exhibition also includes some displays such as "The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People" and "Celadon Prunus Vase with Inlaid Cloud and Crane Design," which were introduced in the previous exhibition.

Among all of these, the most famous piece is "A Beauty." The painter drew a lady considered in the traditional sense to be regarded as a beautiful woman. She has a small oval facial shape with thin lean eyebrows and deep, charming eyes. Her lips are about to speak a word with a shy smile. All of the facial expressions in the drawing add to the mystic charm of the woman.



The exhibition will be held until September 28 at the Design Museum of DDP. Admission is KRW 8,000 for adults and KRW 4,000 for students.
More information about the exhibition is available on its homepage.
http://kansong.org/exhibit/exhibit_ing.asp

More information about DDP is available on its homepage.
http://www.ddp.or.kr/MA010001/getInitPage.do




By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr