Latest news with #NationalPalaceMuseumofKorea
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
Man, 79, arrested for vandalizing Gwanghwamun wall
A 79-year-old man was apprehended Monday morning after allegedly defacing the historic stone wall of Gwanghwamun, the front gate to the main palace Gyeongbokgung, with a message addressed to US President Donald Trump. According to the Korea Heritage Service, a security officer on duty found the man, identified only by the surname Kim, writing on the stone wall at around 8:10 a.m. on Monday. Kim, a resident of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, used a black marker to write a message beginning with, 'A letter to the people and the world, President Trump … .' The security officer immediately intervened, halted the act of vandalism and reported the incident to the palace's security center. Kim was subsequently taken into custody and handed over to police for investigation. Authorities have not yet determined Kim's motive. The Korea Heritage Service confirmed that conservation experts from the National Palace Museum of Korea were dispatched to begin removing the graffiti. The cleanup was expected to be completed by the end of the day. 'This is a serious act of damage against Gyeongbokgung, a symbol of our national heritage and the main royal palace of the Joseon era,' a Korea Heritage Service official said. 'We will respond strictly.' Under South Korea's Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, individuals who deface cultural properties may be ordered to restore the damage and pay the full cost of the restoration. This is not the first time the palace has been targeted by a vandal. In late 2023, a teenager spray-painted graffiti on Yeongchumun and a side entrance near the National Palace Museum. The act was reportedly motivated by a false promise of a 3 million won ($2,120) reward. The cleanup cost was estimated at 131 million won. Gyeongbokgung, originally constructed in 1395, is one of Korea's most treasured cultural landmarks and a major tourist destination.
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
Man vandalizes palace gate with 'message to Trump'
Gyeongbokgung, an iconic royal palace in Seoul, has been vandalized with graffiti, less than two years after a similar incident in late 2023. The Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday confirmed that a 79-year-old man was caught in the act of writing on the stone base of the palace's main gate of Gwanghwamun. The suspect was stopped after he wrote in black marker, 'A message to the people and citizens of the world, President Trump.' The motive behind the act remains unclear. The man, a resident of Seoul, was handed over to the police at the scene. Following the incident, the CHA, in coordination with the National Palace Museum of Korea, dispatched a team of experts to assess the damage and safely remove the graffiti, officials said. Gyeongbokgung, home to many kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) and now a major tourist attraction, was similarly vandalized in 2023. A man operating an illegal video-sharing platform hired two high school students to deface the historic site. He was later sentenced to eight years in prison by the appellate court. Under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, people who vandalize heritage sites can be ordered to restore the damage and pay the full cost of repairs, as well as a separate criminal sentence. Removal of the 2023 graffiti cost approximately 131 million won (about $100,000) in cleaning costs.
Korea Herald
25-06-2025
- Korea Herald
National Palace Museum of Korea to temporarily close doors next month for renovation
Museum to undergo overhauling to provide better environment for visitors The National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul will temporarily close its doors next month for renovations in an effort to improve facilities and provide a better environment for visitors. From July 8 to 20, the exhibition halls on the second floor will be closed for renovation, while the first floor and basement floors will remain open to visitors. During this period, visitors will need to use the entrance next to the museum's cafe on the first floor to enter. The entire museum will be closed to the public from July 21 to 27. The "Hopes and Dreams Revealed Inside Restored Paintings" exhibition, which is a special exhibition of Korean cultural heritage from overseas museum collections, will continue to welcome visitors until July 20 on the museum's first floor.
Korea Herald
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Two Korean cultural heritage pieces make their way home
Folding screens housed at US museums to be shown to public for first time at 'Hopes and Dreams Revealed Inside Restored Paintings' exhibition at NPMK Two South Korean cultural heritage pieces from US museums will be shown in Seoul for the first time since their restoration. The Korea Heritage Service and the National Palace Museum of Korea are jointly hosting the special exhibition titled "Hopes and Dreams Revealed Inside Restored Paintings" from Wednesday until July 20 at the NPMK. The two folding screens, or "byeongpung," were brought back to Korea in October 2023 under the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation's Conservation and Utilization Support Program for conservation treatment that spanned over a year. The screens will return to the US at the end of July, according to officials. The 10-panel "Cloud Dream of the Nine" folding screen was gifted to Marie Elizabeth Church around 1910 by the parents of an Ewha Haktang student she taught while stationed in Korea as a missionary. Now part of the Portland Art Museum collection, the piece illustrates key scenes from the late 17th-century novel of the same name, penned by Kim Man-jung. The story, cherished by both the royal family members and the public during the Joseon era (1392-1910), was often painted on folding screens at the time. The screen portrays the journey of Seong-jin, a disciple of Grand Preceptor Yuk-gwan, who meets eight fairy maidens, is reborn as Yang So-yu, and goes on to experience wealth, power and relationships with women. In the final panel, Seong-jin awakens from a dream and returns to his life as a novice monk, realizing his successes are an illusion. The paintings convey a Buddhist message about spiritual devotion and reflect hopes for wealth, honor and good fortune. Another folding screen being shown, "One Hundred Boys at Play" from the Denver Art Museum, was purchased by the museum around 1970 from the New York-based Felice Fedder Oriental Art. The paintings depict young boys playing games such as mock battles, cockfighting, and plum blossom picking, symbolizing hopes for prosperity, success as officials, and flourishing of the family line. Popular in the late Joseon period, such folding screens were used in royal weddings, court banquets and displayed at home to bring good fortune.
Korea Herald
11-06-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
33 artifacts relocated to National Palace Museum after Tuesday's blaze at Jogyesa complex
Central Buddhist Museum exhibition ends early in wake of fire Thirty-three Buddhist artifacts displayed at the Central Buddhist Museum next to Jogyesa, a Buddhist temple in central Seoul, were relocated to the nearby National Palace Museum of Korea late Tuesday, after a blaze broke out at a building within the temple complex earlier that day. The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism on Wednesday issued a statement confirming that it had safely moved 33 artifacts that were on display at the museum in a preventative measure prompted by the fire. The relocated items include nine state-designated National Treasures, nine state-designated Treasures, two Regional Tangible Cultural Heritage and 13 nondesignated artifacts. No damage was reported or found to the artifacts, it added. Other artifacts held at a storage facility located at the museum's third basement level were not part of the transfer. The decision to keep them at the storage facility came after a safety check, a senior official at the largest Buddhist sect in Korea told The Korea Herald. A fire broke out at the international conference hall on the second floor of the Korean Buddhism History and Culture Memorial Hall next to the temple at 10:22 a.m. The Central Buddhist Museum is on the basement level of a building connected to the Korean Buddhism History and Culture Memorial Hall. The fire was extinguished at 11:57 a.m. Following the fire, an exhibition titled "Hoseon Euigyeom: The Buddha Revealed at the Tip of the Brush" at the museum, originally scheduled to run through June 29, ended Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Ven. Jinwoo, president of the Jogye Order, apologized for the lack of safety measures and for causing concern to the public.
