Lee Kun-hee Collection Reimagined as Public Treasure
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
The Lee Kun-hee collection, donated by the late Samsung chairman, is being showcased abroad in a major touring exhibition that reframes private holdings as public cultural assets. A "Korean Treasures" symposium was held at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., where curators and museum directors discussed how selected works reflect struggles between innovation and tradition in 20th-century Korean art. The exhibition features about 320 works chosen from roughly 23,000 donated items, including seven national treasures (gukbo), 15 classified treasures, and 24 modern and contemporary pieces such as Park Soo-keun’s "Nongak" and Kim Whanki’s "Sanullim." The show has drawn over 40,000 visitors in Washington and will travel next to Chicago and the British Museum in London. Critics say the exhibition helps portray Korean culture as a sustained cultural current rather than a passing trend, reinforcing global interest in Korea’s art and heritage.
