An exhibition featuring works from the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's collection will open at the British Museum in London on Oct. 1, tracing 2,000 years of Korean history to contemporary art.
"Korea: 2,000 years of creativity" is jointly organized by the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The exhibition features collections Lee's family donated to Korea's national museums after he died in 2020.
The exhibition brings together 79 works comprising 164 objects from the National Museum of Korea and 15 works from the MMCA.
The selection includes 10 national treasures and 13 treasures. Among them is the national treasure Bronze Artifacts from Bisan-dong, Daegu, which will be presented to the public for the first time.
The London exhibition is the third and final stop of the overseas tour, following exhibitions at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington in Nov. 2025, and at the Art Institute of Chicago in March.
Unlike the previous US exhibitions, which highlighted Lee's donation and public access to his private collection, the London exhibition narrates Korean history.
The exhibition is divided into four sections: "Wealth and Power," "Wisdom and Beauty," "Learning and Pleasure" and "Individuality and Community." Each section explores different eras of Korean history through its arts and artifacts, from Goryeo celadon and Buddhist paintings from the Three Kingdoms period, as well as Jeong Seon's "Inwang jesaekdo (Scene of Inwangsan Mountain After Rain)" from the Joseon era (1392-1910).
The final section brings together modern and contemporary works spanning the Korean Empire (1986-19190) to the present day, including works by artists Park Soo-keun, Kim Whan-ki, Yi-Jung-seop and Chang Uc-chin. Shin Hak-chul's "Modern History of Korea-Synthesis" (1982-83), which stands about 3.9 meters tall, and Nam June Paik's video sculpture "Brahms" (1993) will be presented.
The exhibition also reflects global interest in Korean culture through "KPop Demon Hunters." The colorful royal screen "Ilwolobongdon," or the "Painting of the Sun, Moon and Five Peaks," inspired the exhibition's poster, whereas the "Magpie and Tiger" will be presented in London for the first time.
"We hope to showcase a new story of Korea through a much greater selection of national treasures and treasures at the London exhibition," said You Hong-june, the director of the National Museum of Korea. "We look forward to fans of Korean culture across the UK and Europe visiting London to discover the roots of K-culture, a global phenomenon."
"Korea: 2,000 years of creativity" builds on the British Museum’s longstanding interest in Korean art. The museum has showcased Korean art since its 1984 exhibition “Treasures from Korea: Art Through 5000 Years." Works from the British Museum's own Korean gallery will be displayed alongside.
The exhibition runs through Jan. 31 at the Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery.
mjcha@heraldcorp.com
