Kansong Art Museum holds exhibition at Bohwagak in 7 years revealing 32 pieces of cultural heritage

▲ This photo, provided by Kansong Art Museum, shows Simsajeong's "Samilpo." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by Kansong Art Museum, shows "Maeheonseonsaengmunjip." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by Kansong Art Museum, shows Min Yeong-ik's "Unmi-nancheop" (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Apr. 15 (Yonhap) -- One of the best private art museums in South Korea, the Kansong Art Museum, located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul is welcoming the general public through an exhibition that is opening for the first time in seven years.

The Kansong Art Museum announced on the 15th that it will be holding a special exhibition called "Bohwasubo- Reunited with the treasures of Kansong" from the 16th till the 5th of June at the Bohwagak exhibition room in the Kansong Art Museum.

Kansong Art Museum has held various exhibitions at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) for five years from 2014 and has temporally closed the Bohwagak exhibition.

The title of this exhibition, "Bohwa" refers to precious purification, while "subo" refers to the act of fixing old things and leaning on places that are not fully equipped.

In the exhibition, 8 non-designated Cultural Heritage of the 32 pieces that was preserved through the "Conservation and Management Support For Large Collections Of Cultural Heritage" promoted by the Cultural Heritage Administration will be displayed. A non-designated cultural heritage are those that have not been designated as national treasures.

Among the works in the exhibition, Kwon wu's (1363~1419)'s anthology "Maeheonseonsaengmunjip" and a collection of paintings collected by Seoknong Kim Kwang-guk, "Haedong Myeonghwa" (1727-1797) are considered as the representative relics.

Kwon Wu was the student of Jeong Mong-ju (a Neo-Confucian scholar towards the end of the Goryeo Period who was one of the most respected scholars of his time) and the teacher of Jeong In-ji (Korean Joseon Dynasty politician, scholar, writer and historian). His anthology "Maeheyonseonsaengmunjip" is presumed to have been the first-edition published in 1452.

In the "Haedong Myeonghwa" collection, there are various paintings including Simsajeong's "Samilpo." While originally there were 28 paintings, during the preservation process, it was confirmed that Zhao Mengfu's "Yeopgido" and Cho Young-Seok's "Noseunghulgak" was from the Haedong Myeonghwa collection.

Apart from that, other pieces including the collection of the 72 pieces by Min Yeong-ik, "Unmi-nancheop", "Podae-hwasang," a piece by one of the most representative painter of the 17th century, Han si-gak, and an artwork by Gim Hong-do, "Dongfang Shuo Stealing Peaches of Immortality" will be displayed to the public.

"One will be able to see new pieces that are as good as the designated cultural heritages" said an official from the Kansong museum. "The title of the exhibition was named in the hope that the precious culture heritages will be with us forever through constant repair and preservation."

Bohwagak, a private art museum established in 1938 by Jeon Hyung-pil (1906-1962) for the preservation and use of art, is going under renovation after this exhibition.

During the exhibition period, only a short video that shows the scenery around Bohwagak will be shown in the exhibition room on the second floor of Bohwagak without any relics.

To visit the exhibition, one must make a reservation through the website of the Kansong Art Museum and the exhibition explanation program will be operated from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

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