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Category Archives: Permanent displays

The Tripitaka Koreana part 2 - the Depository Building

20-Nov-08

Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles on the important treasures from Korea's past The depository buildings which house the Tripitaka Koreana library are unique in almost every sense. Officially the largest wooden storage complex in the world, they are registered together with the Tripitaka itself as part of the UNESCO World Heritage (http://whc.unesco.org/). [caption id="attachment_6968" align="alignright" width="220" caption="The windows of the depository building..."][/caption] The woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana were originally stored on Kanghwa Island. The current depository complex was built in 1398 at Haeinsa temple, located far inland, to be beyond the reach of enemy forces invading from the north, and invasions by pirates. The 108 columns of the buildings symbolize the 108 defilements, or impurities, believed to separate the mind from ...

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The Tripitaka Koreana - part 1

02-Nov-08

Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles on the important treasures from Korea's past One crowning achievement of Korea’s Buddhist heritage that is not included in the Bozar ‘Smile of Buddha’ exhibition is the Tripitaka Koreana. There is a practical reason for this, as it consists of 81,258 woodblocks, weighs 280 tons in total, and would take 30 years to read, even with a reasonable grasp of classical Chinese. The collection of Buddhist scriptures is currently housed in the thousand-year-old Haeinsa temple, and undoubtedly one of the foremost wonders of Korea. Tripitaka is a Sanksrit word meaning ‘three baskets’ – referring to the teachings of the Buddha (Sutra Pitaka), the precepts followed by monks and lay followers (Vinaya Pitaka), and commentaries on ...

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The Pensive Bodhisattva comes to Brussels

06-Oct-08

By Matthew Jackson The centrepiece of the Bozar exhibition of Korean Buddhist Art, beginning in Brussels on the 10th of October, will be the Pensive Bodhisattva statue, Korea’s National Treasure No. 83. It is difficult to describe in words why the statue is regarded so highly as a work of Buddhist art, because its qualities consist primarily in simplicity and lack of detail. Although words may be inadequate, the statue’s renown in Asia (not least of all Japan, whose No. 1 national treasure is a near exact wooden copy of the statue) is primarily due to the feelings that it evokes in those who see it. There are various interpretations of the statue’s meaning, but scholars agree that it is intended to depict ...

Also filed in Bozar 2008, Historical, KSCPP, Seoul National Museum, Smile of Buddha | Tagged Korea's Treasures, Ticker | Comments (0) »

The Sarira Casket

27-Sep-08

Matthew Jackson describes one of the Buddhist treasures in the Seoul National Museum. Of the few people I have asked who have visited the Seoul National Museum, no one has mentioned the Kameun Sarira Casket as the high point of their tour. When I visited the museum myself, even though I was specifically looking out for it, it became clear to me why. At a first glance, in room crowded full of exhibits, its initial appearance does not suggest anything special. Yet this masterpiece of gold artwork must surely rank among the greatest cultural exhibits Korea has to offer the world, both for its unique detail, and its profound religious symbolism. [caption id="attachment_5638" align="alignright" width="220" caption="The real deal - gold granules on ...

Also filed in Historical, KSCPP, Seoul National Museum | Tagged Korea's Treasures, Ticker | Comments (0) »

A visit to the Whanki Museum (환기 미술관)

23-Feb-08

The Korea Tourist Office website advises us that Kim Hwan-gi (1913-1974) (known internationally as Kim Whanki -- and he signs his paintings just plain "Whanki") "was Korea's top artist of modernism". It is therefore frustrating that when you go into the Tourist Information Offices in Insadong no-one has heard of him, still less of the museum that was built specifically to house his work. On two occasions now (a year apart) I've struggled to get the helpful staff to believe that there really is such a place, and that I'd really like to know how to get there. I have to spell out the website address, www.whankimuseum.org, and make sure they type it into their browsers correctly, before they believe ...

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Is the French ambassador a fibber, or did Yonhap misunderstand?

22-Nov-07

A year ago there was a feature in Yonhap about a new museum in Paris which would feature Korean artifacts in its collection. Some 600 art pieces from Korea, about 88 of South Korean origin and about 505 of North Korean origin, will be displayed at the museum said the French ambassador at a press briefing. The Quai Branly museum opened last year. A few days ago I went with high hopes to see this collection. The Quai Branly is a bizarre and bewildering building. Shaped on the outside like a beached whale on stilts - with some strange cubic excrescences along the side - the inside of the building eschews straight lines to give the impression that you are indeed in the whale's ...

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Moon jars old and new

25-Sep-07

There were moon jars a-plenty at the British Museum on Saturday: old and new, whole and smashed, real and fake and, as is the nature of these objects, none of them perfectly spherical. In pride of place in Room 3, just as you enter the museum, is one of the prized items in the British Museum's Korean collection, the Chosun dynasty vase - around 300 years old - picked up by Bernard Leach in Seoul in the 1930s. Surrounding the vase are other objects and displays to give it context: a reproduction of Lord Snowdon's photograph of the moon vase with Lucie Rie, taken in her studio. images of many of the surviving moon jars from the Chosun dynasty - photographed by ...

Also filed in British Museum, Ceramics, Chuseok 2007, Park Young-sook, Shin Mee-kyung | | Comments (0) »

Focus on a piece of happiness

12-Sep-07

The story goes that Bernard Leach, browsing in a Seoul antiques store in the mid 1930s, came across a Choson dynasty Moon Jar and held his head in disbelief at its beauty. And, after one of the more inspired impulse buys in recent art history, he walked out of the shop "carrying a piece of happiness" ((Source: Gina Ha-Gorlin in the British Musuem's Autumn 2007 magazine)). That Jar now resides in the British Museum as one of the highlights of its Korean collection. From 20 September for six weeks, that piece of happiness will be the British Museum's "Object in Focus". Gina Ha-Gorlin, Arts Council Fellow at the museum, has planned an exhibition in room 3 (at the entrance to the ...

Also filed in British Museum, Ceramics, Chuseok 2007, Events news, Kim Whanki, Nam June Paik, Park Young-sook | | Comments (0) »

Bang goes Chuseok

05-Sep-07

Two events to celebrate Chuseok, Korea's harvest festival. Firstly, the Anglo-Korean Society will be having a buffet dinner at Young Bean Kwan on the Barbican highwalks in the City on 20 September. Guest of honour will be Ambassador Cho. There will be a short pre-dinner talk on Korean customs and food, and guests will be entertained by young Korean musicians on traditional instruments. Pre-booking required with the AKS. Download a flier for the Chuseok dinner here. AKS membership enquiries to Sylvia Park (sylviaparkairtravel at hotmail dot co dot uk) Second, the British Museum will be celebrating Chuseok on 22 September. Many of the entertainments from the Thames Festival the previous weekend will be appearing in the forecourt of the BM, and also in some ...

Also filed in Anglo-Korean Society, British Museum, Chuseok 2007, Dae Jang Geum, Dulsori, Events news, Korean traditional music, Shin Mee-kyung | | Comments (0) »

The Leeum Art Gallery, Seoul

11-Feb-07

A brief walk from Hangangjin subway stop (line 6) near Itaewon is the Leeum Gallery, set up by Samsung. No expense has been spared on the building itself, with prestigious foreign architects engaged to build it, and an impressive collection of artworks. The building itself is very spacious, and has three main sections. Older artworks are displayed in the galleries around the Guggenheim-style teacup-shaped atrium (left - complete with spiral walkways): Koryo and Chosun ceramics, including many national treasures, ink paintings, and Buddhist artefacts. The second section is devoted to modern and contemporary works, both Korean and international, while the third section, under the main entrance, is set aside for special exhibitions. Currently on show are late Chosun dynasty ink paintings. You ...

Also filed in Chang Uc-chin, Chung Kyung-ja, Jang Seung-eop (Owon), Kim Ki-chang, Kim Whanki, Lee Bul, Leeum Gallery, Nam June Paik, Park Saeng-kwang, Park Seo-bo, Seoul, Suh Do-ho, Suh Se-ok, Travel | | Comments (2) »

Seoul’s National Museum of Contemporary Art

22-Jan-07

45 minutes from the downtown area of Seoul is a rather special place. Take line 4 to Seoul Grand Park (Gwacheon, 과천), and board the free shuttle bus which runs from near the exit. The Lonely Planet says it would take 20 minutes to walk to the gallery, but it seemed to take the bus about that long to get there. You are greeted by a rather spacious sculpture park. Walking up the sloping path towards the gallery entrance, the first thing you see is a giant steel sculpture of a human figure, his mouth opening and closing with a regular rhythm. He stands there presenting himself to the sun, gazing out over the parkland to the mountains beyond. There is chattering ...

Also filed in Korea Museum of Contemporary Art, Nam June Paik, Pictures, Seoul, Travel | | Comments (0) »

AKS V&A visit

03-Oct-06

Many thanks to Sylvia Park for organising a fun evening of food and learning on 20 September, and of course to Beth McKillop, curator of the V&A's Asian collection, for guiding the assembled company through the V&A's Korean exhibits. The evening started in the Samsung gallery at the V&A, in front of the stoneware from the three kingdoms and unified Silla periods. Beth noted that the potters wheel had been introduced into Korea from China very early in the first millennium CE, long before the technology was discovered in the west. We paused in front of a unified Silla period funerary urn (right), before moving on to the Koryo dynasty exhibits. Beth talked about the painting and inlaying technique ...

Also filed in Anglo-Korean Society, Victoria & Albert | | Comments (0) »

Guided Tour of V&A collection

10-Aug-06

Anglo-Korean Society members have a treat in store on 20 September. Beth McKillop, keeper of the Asian department at the V&A, will be offering an evening guided tour. The tour will start in the Samsung Gallery of Korean Art, and then take in some of the Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern exhibits. The tour will also give a general introduction to the Museum's collecting and research, including the Futureplan, which is modernising the displays. We will then move on to Bibimbub in Earl's Court for a Korean dinner. Tickets £20 (and membership details) from Sylvia Park. Related posts:Crying Nut to tour the US This story has to be taken with a heavy pinch...Reminder - AKS Annual Dinner A reminder to members of ...

Also filed in Anglo-Korean Society, Events news, Victoria & Albert | | Comments (0) »

New Korean gallery opens in Paris

03-Jun-06

For your weekend away in Paris, there's a new attraction. Steer clear of anything to do with the Da Vinci Code at the Louvre and instead go to the new museum of African & Asian cultures at Quai Branly. Thanks to David at www.kahoidong.com for a link to this article on the Yonhap site. SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- France will open a museum next month in Paris that will showcase Korean art and civilization among its celebration of world cultures, France's top envoy in Seoul said Tuesday. The Quai Branly Museum, located beside the Eiffel Tower and close to the Louvre, gears up for its opening after generating much anticipation in France and around the world for its dedication to arts ...

Also filed in Events news, General arts news, Quai Branly | | Comments (0) »

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