Museum chief talks national identity, global profile

Korea Herald

17-04-2025

Exhibits on Joseon art, Adm. Yi Sun-sin reminder of Korean identity, says NMK director general Kim Jae-hong
For the National Museum of Korea, conveying the national identity of Korea is a starting point to demonstrating and informing about culture, according to the museum's general director, Kim Jae-hong.
In an interview with The Korea Herald on April 11, Kim emphasized curating exhibitions quintessentially Korean.
"This year is all the more meaningful to us and the country," Kim said, as this year marks the 80th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The "Art of Early Joseon" exhibit, running June through August, is one of the highlights of the museum's calendar this year.
'The early years of Joseon (1392-1910) were foundational to modern-day Korea, because they shaped the Korean identity," Kim said about the first 200 years of Joseon that the exhibition covers, noting that "the social fabric as well as physical borders" of Korea had been established by then.
Some 300 items -- from royal paintings to ceramics as well as Buddhist art -- will introduce visitors to an era that has been much overlooked despite its significance, according to Kim.
Director Kim identified "innovation" as the takeaway from the exhibition, alluding to initiative and vibrancy that the Joseon people projected as they fostered what would become Korea. Chief curator of fine art Kim Hae-won believes it is art that best captures such energy sparked by a new beginning.
From November to March next year, the museum will explore national identity in the context of peace with some 100 objects related to Adm. Yi Sun-sin. Outgunned, the legendary naval commander fought off Japanese invaders in the 16th century, making him a textbook example of perseverance in the face of struggles.
"The exhibition encourages reflection on the pursuit of peace in the face of adversity," Kim said, adding he believes it could lead to introspection on who Koreans are and have been.
A curator with a career spanning nearly two decades at the NMK, Director Kim isn't overlooking potential collaborations with museums abroad to make the NMK truly international.
'Korean Moon Jars,' co-curated by NMK and the Denver Art Museum, is running at the Denver Art Museum in the US, while 'Special Exhibition on Korean Culture' is showing Korean crafts, ceramics and paintings spanning from ancient to modern times at the Dresden State Art Collections, which comprises 15 museums in Germany. For the exhibition, the NMK loaned 349 of the 359 objects on display. The monthslong exhibitions both launched in March.
An upcoming exhibition at the NMK is a testament to Kim's commitment to going global.
"Mana Moana: Arts of the Great Ocean, Oceania," opening April 30, will focus on Oceanian culture in the first such exhibition by a museum in Korea. It is a joint exhibition with the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, which has loaned artifacts related to Pacific island nations. After closing on Sept. 14, the exhibition will travel to the Jeonnam Museum of Art in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, from Sept. 30 to Dec. 28.
According to Kim, collaborations with foreign museums help promote Korean culture and facilitate the NMK to start conversations about global solutions to the challenges facing many nations.
Kim hopes to see the Oceania exhibit deepen public discussion on diverse cultures and how they deal with global issues like climate change. "Pacific Island nations offer inspiration to some of the crises landlocked countries grapple with," Kim said.
The NMK cannot stay "boxed in," Kim said, elaborating that outreach to a global audience should take many forms.
In November, the museum will launch a permanent exhibition gallery dedicated to the Islamic world, a first for a museum in Korea. The Ninety-six objects on view will be on loan from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
Expansion does not end there, Kim said, adding that discussions are underway for a room on African culture.