Photos = National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art 

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) is extending to June 6 its exhibition "MMCA Lee Kun-hee Collection: Masterpieces of Korean Art" in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. 

The museum on April 12 said, "For those who have not seen the exhibition, the museum has decided to extend 'The Lee Kun-hee Collection,' which was to close on April 13, to June 6 for the second time."

The extension also means changes to the exhibition's operations. The MMCA from April 14 will abolish online reservations and sell tickets onsite, limited to one per person. 

The daily cap of 800 to 1,100 visitors was also scrapped, but given the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the limit of 100 people entering at one time was retained. Admission is free.

Opened on July 21 last year, the exhibition was initially slated to end on March 13 this year. Due to popular demand, it was extended the first time to April 13. Approximately 100,000 people flocked to see the collection between its opening and April 10. 

The late Lee Kun-hee (1942-2020) was a Korean entrepreneur who served as Samsung Group chairman. His family in April last year donated 11,023 works spanning 23,000 pieces from his private art collection to the MMCA and National Museum of Korea (NMK).

The collection displayed at the MMCA contains 1,369 domestic and 119 foreign works

MMCA Director Yoon Bum-mo said, "Despite the first extension to appease those unable to see the exhibition, we decided to extend the event period for a second time," adding, "We thank the people for their deep interest and hope more people can enjoy masterpieces of Korean art." 

aisylu@korea.kr