TRAVEL: Leeum Museum of Art - Private museum preserving S. Korea's artistic soul

By Cho bo-hee Posted : March 27, 2025, 17:36 Updated : March 27, 2025, 17:57
SEOUL, March 27 (AJP) - TRAVEL: Leeum Museum of Art - Private museum preserving S. Korea’s artistic soul

 
 고려청자 잔잔탁
Goryeo celadon cup and stand. AJP Cho Bo-hee

Located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the Leeum Museum of Art is a private institution founded by the Samsung Foundation of Culture. A reflection of the collective artistic passion of the extended Samsung family—including the late founder Lee Byung-chul, the late Lee Kun-hee, and Hong Ra-hee—the museum blends their appreciation for Korea’s ancient and contemporary art.

The museum is organized into permanent and special exhibition halls. Its permanent collection boasts an impressive array of traditional and modern works. While the museum does not officially disclose its full holdings, it is widely known to possess 36 National Treasures and 96 Treasures, making it arguably the top private collection in the country.

 
 고려시대 청자양각 모란당초문 기와
Goryeo celadon tile with carved peony scroll design. AJP Cho Bo-hee

Museum I, which focuses on traditional Korean art, presents a floor-by-floor journey: the fourth floor is dedicated to Goryeo celadon, the third to Joseon white porcelain and Buncheong ware, and the second to painting, featuring works by Jeong Seon, Choi Buk, Kang Se-hwang, Kim Hong-do, and Kim Jeong-hui. The first floor houses metal crafts and Buddhist art. The modern art wing includes works by global and Korean masters—from Alberto Giacometti and Park Soo-keun to Lee Jung-seop and Damien Hirst.

Leeum has recently attracted attention for exhibiting two significant cultural relics from abroad: the Welcoming Ceremony for a Successful Civil Service Candidate by the Pyeongan Governor, and a Hwarot—a ceremonial wedding robe worn by a Joseon princess.
 
 
 평안감사 도과급제자 환영도
“Welcoming Ceremony for a Successful Civil Service Candidate by the Pyeongan Governor”. AJP Cho Bo-hee
The Welcoming Ceremony is an eight-panel folding screen housed at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts. It is a large-scale documentary painting featuring an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 figures. Thanks to a collaborative effort between the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Samsung Foundation, the artwork underwent a 16-month conservation process in South Korea and is now on display at Leeum through Apr. 6.

According to the museum, three experts in traditional painting restoration painstakingly worked over several months to repair approximately 10,000 worm-eaten holes. The greatest challenge, however, was reassembling the panels in the correct order. Using clues such as the attire of figures and the shifting color tones that indicated the passage of time, they successfully restored the piece to its original format as a folding screen.

 
 조선시대 활옷 국내기술로 보존처리해 제 모습을 살려냈다
Back view of the Joseon-era Hwarot, restored using domestic conservation techniques. AJP Cho Bo-hee

The Hwarot, also owned by PEM, was donated in 1927 by the renowned Japanese antiquities dealer Yamanaka & Co. Time had not been kind to the robe, which had grown tattered and faded after multiple uses and nearly a century in storage. Thanks to a 13-month restoration project led by the Seok Juseon Memorial Museum at Dankook University, the garment was returned to its former glory. Both the Hwarot and the Welcoming Ceremony will return to the United States after the exhibition to become part of the permanent Korean gallery at PEM, which is scheduled to reopen in May.
 
고려청자 잔 전시관
Goryeo celadon cup display. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
 12세기 청자상감 발원문명 골호
12th-century celadon jar inscribed with Buddhist dedication. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
백자청화 운룡문 호
White porcelain jar with cloud-and-dragon design. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
 김정희 초상
Portrait of Kim Jeong-hui. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
가야 집모양토기
Clay house-shaped vessel from the Gaya Confederacy. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
고려 청동풍탁
Goryeo bronze wind chime. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
고려 아미타여래삼존 좌상
Seated triad of Amitabha from Goryeo. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
국보인 고려 금동 대탑
Goryeo gilt bronze pagoda (National Treasure). AJP Cho bo-hee
 
국보인 통일신라 백지묵서 대방광불화엄경
Avatamsaka Sutra in ink on white paper from Unified Silla (National Treasure). AJP Cho bo-hee
 
평안감사 도과급제자 환영도 부분도
Details of the Welcoming Ceremony. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
 평안감사 도과급제자 환영도 부분도
Details of the Welcoming Ceremony. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
 평안감사 도과급제자 환영도 부분도
Details of the Welcoming Ceremony. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
 조선 공주 혼례복인활옷 앞 부분
front view of the Joseon Hwarot. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
상아로 만든 휴대용 앙부일구
portable ivory sundial (Angbu-ilgu). AJP Cho bo-hee
 
이우환 선으로부터
Lee Ufan’s From Line. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
현대미술 소장품전
Modern art collection exhibit. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
로댕의 칼레의 시민
Rodin’s The Burghers of Calais. AJP Cho bo-hee
 
리움미술관 입구
 Entrance to Leeum Museum of Art. AJP Cho Bo-hee.
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