Korea's cultural gems find new home in Daegu

Kansong Art Museum Daegu (Courtesy of the museum)

Kansong Art Museum Daegu brings together several designated national treasures in the largest-ever show of national treasures in its collection.

The museum's inaugural exhibition “Treasures of the Kansong Art Museum Daegu,” which opens Sept. 3, marks the opening of a new home for the country's oldest private museum.

“It took nearly 10 years to open the museum in Daegu, and I am glad we can offer an opportunity to people outside Seoul to enjoy our collection of national treasures,” Jeon In-geon, director of the museum, told The Korea Herald. “The Bohwagak (the name of the existing museum building in Seoul) was not spacious enough to show our collection at a large scale.”

Kansong Art Museum, known as a fortress of Korean cultural heritage during the Japan’s 1910-45 colonial era, was founded by Jeon Hyung-pil, a wealthy merchant, in 1938 in Seoul. Jeon, better known by his penname Kansong, collected Korean cultural artifacts to protect Korean heritage from being taken out of the country by Japanese colonialists and built the museum during the colonial era.

An installation view of “Treasures of the Kansong Art Museum Daegu" at Kansong Art Museum Daegu (Courtesy of the museum)

The museum’s regional branch in Daegu was built after the private museum and the city government signed an agreement in 2016 with a budget worth 44.6 billion won ($33.5 million). The 8,000-square-meter museum is located next to Daegu Art Museum, forming a new culture cluster in the city.

The exhibition will present some 40 treasures and national treasures across six galleries. The highlight of the exhibition includes “Hunminjeongeum Haerye (The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People),” National Treasure No. 70. The 33-page book from the Joseon era (1392-1910) details the promulgation of Hangeul, the Korean writing system, and the usages of the letters.

“The Daegu museum has a new storage and restoration space so we can manage the treasures better,” the director said.

The museum in Seoul went through remodeling and resumed its regular exhibitions in May after a decade with the exhibition “Bohwagak 1938.” The museum had technically remained closed for the past 10 years as it became difficult to accommodate visitors in the aging facility.