“Inwang Jesaekdo,” designated as National Treasure No. 216 and painted by the great Joseon-era artist Jeong Seon, is regarded as the pinnacle of true-view landscape painting. The work captures the moment when mist rises after rainfall, showcasing the restrained elegance characteristic of Joseon-period artistic style. (National Museum of Korea)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A sweeping selection of masterpieces from the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s renowned art collection goes on public display in the United States for the first time on Saturday, as South Korea’s two leading national museums open a landmark exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
Co-organized by the National Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), the Smithsonian and the Art Institute of Chicago, the show, titled “Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared,” brings together 172 cultural heritage pieces and 24 modern artworks donated to the Korean museums after Lee’s death in 2020.
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Colleen Dugan
The scale and rarity of the works — many of them National Treasures — make the exhibition one of the most significant presentations of Korean art ever held overseas.
Among the highlights are Jeong Seon’s “Inwang Jesaekdo” (After Rain at Mt. Inwang, 1751), regarded as one of the greatest landscape paintings in Korean history, as well as Kim Hong-do’s “Chuseongbu-do” (Theme of Chuseongbu,1805) and a 1459 edition of “Worin Seokbo,” an early Buddhist text.
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Colleen Dugan
The exhibition also features modern and contemporary works by Park Soo-keun, Lee Ung-no, Kim Whanki, Park Saeng-kwang and Park Rae-hyun — artists who helped define Korea’s 20th-century art landscape.
Originally set to open last week, the show was briefly delayed due to a temporary U.S. federal government shutdown.
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Colleen Dugan
The collection’s international tour marks a watershed moment for Korean art diplomacy. After its Washington run through Feb. 1, the exhibition will travel to the Art Institute of Chicago from March 7 to July 5, and later to the British Museum in London from September 2026 to January 2027.
To accompany the show, the Smithsonian will offer Korean-themed museum goods — from Joseon-blue celadon and moon jar accessories to miniatures of the iconic pensive Bodhisattva — designed in collaboration with the Korean museums.
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Colleen Dugan.
In Los Angeles, the Korean Cultural Center will host a public lecture about the exhibition, featuring Chase Robinson, director of the National Museum of Asian Art, and the curatorial team.
The National Museum of Korea (Director Yoo Hong-jun) and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Director Kim Sung-hee) will open the first overseas touring exhibition of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s donated collection, “Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared,” on Nov. 15 (local time) at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C.
Image credit: The National Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
