Six exquisite gold crowns from the ancient Silla Kingdom, normally scattered across different museums, have been brought together for the first time in a landmark exhibition celebrating South Korea's hosting of the APEC summit.
The Gyeongju National Museum announced Monday it will host the special exhibition, "Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige," to commemorate the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and the museum's 80th anniversary.
The summit is set to take place Friday and Saturday in the ancient tourist city of Gyeongju, about 275 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
"Silla gold crowns are masterpieces possessing the most original and sophisticated formative beauty among ancient East Asian ornaments," said Yoon Sang-deok, director of the museum. "This is the first exhibition to bring all six gold crowns together in one place."
Gyeongju was the capital of Silla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula at its height.
The six known Silla crowns, dating from roughly the fifth to sixth centuries, are usually held in separate collections.
The crowns from the Geumnyeongchong and Hwangnamdaechong tombs are typically managed by the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, while three others are housed at the Gyeongju museum. A sixth crown, from the Seobongchong tomb, is in the collection of the National Museum and has been on loan to the Cheongju National Museum since May 2023.
The exhibition will also feature six gold belts unearthed from the Geumgwanchong, Hwangnamdaechong and Cheonmachong tombs, bringing the total number of artifacts on display to 20.
According to museum officials, the exhibition seeks to "introduce Silla's gold culture, which is the essence of ancient Korean civilization and the foundation of today's K-culture, to a global audience," amid the recent worldwide boom in South Korean pop culture.
The exhibit will also explore recent research and academic discussions surrounding the Silla gold crowns.
"We plan to promote the global value of Korean cultural heritage through this exhibition and to develop it into a venue for cultural diplomacy that bridges the past and present, Silla and the world," Yoon added.
The museum will be temporarily closed from Tuesday to Saturday due to an unspecified event related to the APEC summit, according to a notice on its website. The public will be able to view the unified collection from Sunday until Dec. 14. (Yonhap)
