By Kang Gahui and Sohn JiAe

An online platform now allows users to access high-resolution images of some of Korea’s greatest cultural heritage items.

The National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Intangible Heritage Center, both under the Cultural Heritage Administration, have turned to Google’s state-of-the-art viewing technologies to give audiences a glimpse of royal cultural assets and intangible heritage items by visiting the Google Arts and Culture website, which has since 2011 offered high-quality images of artworks and cultural assets housed in museums around the world.

Among those items released on the platform on June 21, there are more than 2,500 Korean cultural heritage assets that are housed in museums here, including the “Royal Seal and Investiture Book Collection of Joseon.”

Using the Art Camera system, the website offers the finest details of all works in the collection, with realistic, up-close and vivid images made of over 1 billion pixels, giving the feeling as if the works are unfolding right in front of your eyes. There are also video clips of interviews with mother-of-pearl inlaying, knot-making and metal-engraving masters, as well as images of their artworks.

Using Street View technology, the platform also gives virtual tours of exhibits at the two Korean museums, letting viewers feel as if they're actually walking around and browsing the museums in real life. Viewers also can enjoy a 360-degree virtual view of Joseon royal palaces, such as Changdeokgung Palace, and of a wide range of traditional handicrafts.

To navigate this online exhibition, please visit the website below or type in “Korean Heritage” at the website.
https://artsandculture.google.com/project/korean-heritage



kgh89@korea.kr