The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in Houston displays artifacts at its Arts of Korea Gallery. Shown are blue and white porcelains with a dragon design donated by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

By Hong Angie
Photos = National Museum of Korea

Amid rising global interest in Korean culture such as K-pop and K-dramas, leading museums around the world are expanding their Korean sections or holding related exhibitions.

Based on analyses of news releases from this year and 2023 by the National Museum of Korea, Korea.net on June 13 found that the number of museums abroad with such facilities or exhibition corners jumped from 32 in nine countries in 1990 to 70 in 22 last month. 

The number of Korean galleries overseas receiving government funding also shot up from just one in one country in 2009 to 21 in nine this year. 

Jackson Gallery of the Denver Art Museum in Denver

The Korean sections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Art Institute of Chicago of the U.S., National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden of the Netherlands and the British Museum have began two-year exhibitions to promote Korean artifacts.

The Arts of Korea Gallery at the Houston museum underwent a revamp in March under the theme of the Joseon Dynasty, displaying 33 items and 35 pieces from the National Museum of Korea's collection of works showing the life and culture of Joseon, including a blue and white porcelain with a dragon design donated by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. 

The section shows harmony between the arts and culture of Joseon with the contemporary works of the Houston museum, displaying modern aesthetics.

Amid rising public interest in traditional arts, the Chicago institute expanded the scale of its Korean corner over 300%. The 14 items and 24 pieces displayed there include "Scholar's Accoutrements," which reflects the habit of Joseon scholars to explore books and antiques.

The Denver Art Museum in Denver is cooperating with the National Museum of Korea to display 123 items, including buncheong, or grey-colored vessels coated with white slip, at the Denver facility's Jackson Gallery and Korea Room.

Under the theme "Perfectly Imperfect: Korean Buncheong Ceramics," the exhibition sheds light on the unique aesthetics and sensibility of such ceramics from the Joseon era to the works of contemporary Korean artists.

Seven production methods of buncheong ceramics are displayed at Jackson Gallery of the Denver Art Museum in Denver.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will hold until July 28 the exhibition "Hallyu! The Korean Wave," showcasing some 250 items such as costumes, props and photos. The exhibition is the first at a major American art museum on Korean pop culture.

In the Netherlands, the Leiden museum's section for Korean art features the addition of a display case of artifacts, raising the number from two to three, and the debut of the seated wooden Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue from the Joseon era.

Completing reorganization in October last year, the Korean section of the British Museum shows 190 leading pieces of cultural heritage, ranging from a slender dagger with a large spearhead from the Bronze Age to Joseon metal types. 

The museum also collaborated with K-pop artists to restructure the gallery. A recording by the girl group NewJeans explains to visitors the displayed artifacts, including a white moon jar from the Joseon era.

In Thailand, National Museum Bangkok last year opened a Korean exhibition using immersive experiential content using cutting-edge technology. To mark its reorganization, two virtual content videos at the exhibition use digital technology to show the reinterpretation of traditional cultural heritage. 

Also on display are a Buddhist sculpture from Korea and another from Thailand. 

In the Philippines, the Korean Cultural Center in Taguig through June 29 will show the exhibition "Endless Landscape: Digitally Reimagined Korean Art" based on content videos using the convergence of emerging technologies.

To mark the 75th anniversary of official ties between Seoul and Manila, four videos made by the National Museum of Korea and Chuncheon National Museum will be screened. Two of them are "Endless Mountains and Rivers: A Prosperous World Unfolds in Nature" and "Royal Procession with the People."

shong9412@korea.kr