BTS leader RM has donated KRW 100 million for the second straight year to help preserve Korean cultural relics held abroad. He is shown giving a speech in September last year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Yonhap News)

By Jung Joo-ri

RM, leader of the K-pop group BTS, has donated KRW 100 million for the second consecutive year to help preserve Korean cultural heritage held overseas.

The Cultural Heritage Administration and Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation on Sept. 15 said he donated another KRW 100 million for the "preservation, restoration and utilization" of Korean cultural assets overseas.

The money will go to cataloging Korean paintings scattered at leading museums and art galleries worldwide.

RM secretly donated KRW 100 million in September last year for the same purpose.

The foundation said his first donation is being used to fund the preservation and treatment of a hwarot, a woman's bridal robe from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with the latter's cooperation.

An estimated 40 hwarot remain -- 30 in Korea and 10 abroad. The robe was worn by the princess and a daughter of the Joseon king through a concubine at leading national ceremonies. Laypeople were allowed to wear it only at weddings.

The hwarot at the Los Angeles museum not only has excellent embroidery patterns but also relatively good preservation status as seen in its colors and shape, thus possessing high cultural heritage value.

This item will be brought to Korea this month to undergo five months of relic preservation. It will be displayed to the public next year at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul and the Los Angeles museum in 2024.

This hwarot from the Joseon Dynasty is housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art of the U.S. (Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation)