Autorentext

Editor Sang-ah Kim is Project Curator, Korean Collection in the Asia Department at the British Museum and Curator of the exhibition Korea at the British Museum in autumn 2026.

Contributors:

Hyung-wook Huh is Director of the Education Division at the National Museum of Korea

Myounghee Jeong is Head of the Future Strategy Division at the National Museum of Korea

Kyung-nam Kang is Curator at the National Museum of Korea

Kim Youngna is Professor Emerita in the Department of Archaeology and Art History at Seoul National University and former Director of the National Museum of Korea

Soyeon Shin is Curator at the National Museum of Korea

Saerom Yu is Curator at the National Museum of Korea

Charlotte Horlyck is Professor in the History of Korean Art, Department of History and Archaeology at SOAS, University of London

Anders Karlsson is Senior Lecturer in Korean, School of Languages, Culture and Linguistics at SOAS, University of London

Sangdeok Yoon is Director of the Gyeongju National Museum

Sangmi Lee is Curator at the Gyeongju National Museum

Sukyung Lee is Director of the Chuncheon National Museum

Soo-ran Yoo is Curator at the Chuncheon National Museum

Insoo Cho is Professor in the Department of Art Theory at the Korea National University of the Arts

Young-min Ko is Curator at the Daegu National Museum

Sooyon Lee is Curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Dayun Oh is Curator at the Jeonju National Museum

J.P. Park is June and Simon Li Professor in the History of Art, University of Oxford

Diego Tamburini is Scientist: Polymeric and Modern Organic Materials at the British Museum

Sem Vermeersch is Professor in Religious Studies and Director of Centre for Religious Studies at Seoul National University

Klappentext

A history of Korean art and culture told through an extraordinary collection of objects from the Lee Kun-Hee Collection.

For over 2000 years Korea has had a unique history and vibrant culture, frequently absorbing and adapting ideas from elsewhere to produce art and crafts that are distinctively Korean. Across the centuries, down to the present day, artists and craftspeople have taken inspiration from the past, re-creating and reinterpreting forms and meanings in innovative ways. Showcasing an exceptional collection of objects drawn primarily from the collection of the late Samsung Chair, Lee Kun-Hee, this new book presents Korean culture from its ancient roots through to the present day. Through four key periods - Three Kingdoms/Unified Silla (300 BCE-935 CE), Goryeo (918-1392), Joseon (1392-1897), and modern/contemporary - the authors explore each era's differences in religion, economy and relations with neighbouring countries, factors that shaped artistic traditions and cultural values.

From early Iron Age ritual bells, through to inlaid lacquerware, landscape paintings, portraits, sculpture, pottery and multimedia contemporary art, this beautifully illustrated new book celebrates the unique history, art and culture of Korea.

Inhalt

Forewords
Introduction
Introduction (Sang-ah Kim)
Growth and maturation: current scholarship on the art of Korea (Insoo Cho)
The Lee Kun-Hee Family Collection and the impact of its donation to the National Museums (Sukyung Lee)
Chapter 1: Wealth and power
Formation of ancient states to Unified Silla - development of statehood (Sangdeok Yoon)
Buddhist sculpture in the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla Period (Hyung-wook Huh)
Figurative pottery and clay figurine-decorated pottery (Sangmi Lee)
Gilt-bronze shoes (Young-min Ko)
Chapter 2: Wisdom and Beauty
The art and culture of Goryeo: flowering amidst turmoil (Myounghee Jeong)
Buddhism in Korea (Sem Vermeersch)
Buddhist teachings in script: Goryeo Dynasty sutras and shifts in patronage (Soyeon Shin)
Beneath the shine: tracing the craft and chemistry of Goryeo lacquerware (Diego Tamburini)
Chapter 3: Learning and longevity
Learning and pleasure: Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) (Sang-ah Kim)
Confucianism and traditional Korean society (Anders Karlsson)
Conflicted realities: Joseon Dynasty within and without (J.P. Park)
Buncheong ware (Kyung-nam Kang)
Book culture and distribution of knowledge (Saerom Yu)
Palsangdo: the eight scenes from the life of the Buddha (Soo-ran Yoo)
Scholar's taste in neo-Confucian society (Dayun Oh)
Chapter 4: Individuality and community
20th century to the Present (Sooyon Lee)
Navigating tradition and innovation, local and global: Korean art in the modern age (Kim Youngna)
Kim Whanki, Echo (Sooyon Lee)
Shin Hakchul, Modern History of Korea-Synthesis (Sooyon Lee) Epilogue
The reception and collecting of Korean art outside Korea (Charlotte Horlyck)
Notes, Selected reading, Acknowledgements, Credits, Index