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CULTURE Museum Prepares to Celebrate Centennial Next Year BY PARK MIN-YOUNG STAFF WRITER More than 200 museum officials gathered at the National Museum of Korea on Nov. 3 for a ceremony to proclaim 2009 as “the 100th anniversary of the Korean museum.” Lee O-young, chairman of the Commemoration Promotion Committee and the former minister of culture, sports and tourism, gave the proclamation. “It has been 100 years since the first Korean museum opened. We need to preserve our cultural assets and their value in their original form,” he said. It was held under the theme “The Visitors take notes at the National Museum of Korea The National Museum of Korea National Museum of Korea National Museum of Korea historical significance of the 100th anniversary of the Korean museum.” Many cultural figures participated, including Lee, Kim Jang-sil, vice-minister of culture, sports and tourism, and Go Heung-gil, chairman of the Culture, Sports and Tourism and Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly. After the seminar, the participants looked around “Autumn in Art,” a special exhibition of the museum. A total of 140 pieces of landscape paintings, genre paintings and other cultural assets regarding autumn were displayed. An emblem to commemorate the centennial was also unveiled. It consists of the Korean letters “Bak Mul Gwan,” or “museum,” and the colors are inspired by “bojagi,” or Korean traditional wrapping cloths. It implies that it will carefully wrap and preserve various Korean cultural artifacts. The first Korean museum that was open to the public was the Imperial Museum, founded on Nov. 1, 1908, at Changgyeonggung Palace. It was opened to the public for the first time in 1909 by Sunjong, the last emperor of the Empire of Korea, who hoped to share cultural assets with the people. Next year, to commemorate the Visitors take a look at a collection in the National Museum of Korea 1 Changgyeonggung Yanghwadang, a former building of the museum which was used from 1908 to 1938 2 The renovated capital building, which was used as the museum from 1986 to 1996 3 A building in Gyeongbokgung, which was used as the museum from 1972 to 1986 1 2 3 100th anniversary of the Korean museum, the National Museum of Korea will hold various commemorative events along with the Korean Museum Association. It plans to hold a ceremony and an international conference in November 2009. It will host three international conferences before that, all regarding the meaning of the centennial year. A special exhibition with 200 pieces of cultural assets is planned from November 2009 to February 2010. The museum will also publish a book on the history of Korean museums and start a donation fund. “We hope to make next year a starting point to raise the importance of museums and make them more familiar to the people,” said Choe Kwang-shik, the director of the National Museum of Korea, during the ceremony. “We will look back on the achievements of Korean museums and prepare for the next centennial — all the while preserving and boosting Korean culture.” To visit the National Museum of Korea, get off at Ichon Station, subway line No. 4, and come out of exit No. 2. For more information, visit www.museum.go.kr ■ 26 KOREA DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBER 2008 KOREA 27
CULTURE Emography on a closet Calligraphy of Kim Jeong-hee black Chinese ink, but the thickness of the ink varies. Calligraphers adjust the strength put into each stroke, creating a spectrum of brightness from complete black to nearly white, even on one single letter. The unique thing about Korean calligraphy is that it uses “Hangeul,” or Korean characters, as well as Hanja. It has even a wider range of letters to express the art with. Great Korean calligraphers, such as Kim Jeong-hee, are considered some of Asia’s best. Huh Hoi-tae The Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum at Seoul Arts Center Calligraphy of King Hyojong of the Joseon Dynasty The World of Korean Calligraphy BY PARK MIN-YOUNG STAFF WRITER Foreigners are often puzzled when faced with Korean calligraphy work. “Is that a piece of art or a document?” they would say. Even though it is unfamiliar in the West, calligraphy is a traditional form of art in Asia. Originating in ancient China, calligraphy caught on in many Asian countries that use “Hanja,” or Chinese characters, such as Japan, Vietnam and Korea. Charm of Korean Calligraphy No matter how simple it looks to stroke letters on a paper with a big brush, calligraphy is a complex genre of art. It is the art of shape. Just the right accordance of dots and lines are needed. Regarding this, each calligrapher has his or her own style. Little variances, even a simple shift in the order of writing each letter, make a big difference. The works are usually done in Huh Hoi-tae Calligraphy Museums in Korea The Korean Museum of Calligraphy opened in Suwon in October 2008. It is the first museum specializing in calligraphy to be established by a local government. At the museum, visitors can see how Korean calligraphy changed and developed over time. The museum holds more than 6,000 works by famous calligraphers from various dynasties. The works of King Youngjo and Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty can be found there. Before the museum in Suwon opened, the Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum at Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul was the sole place that held expositions on calligraphy. It has held nearly a hundred expositions since its establishment in 1988. The Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum contains more than 1,300 works of calligraphy. Some works of foreign calligraphers are also included in the collection. Huh Hoi-tae writes calligraphy with a big brush Contemporary Korean Calligraphy Some calligraphers seek to modernize Korean calligraphy in a creative way. Huh Hoi-tae, a veteran calligrapher of 47 years, is one. He recently held the exhibition titled “Emography” at Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum. “Emography” is a new concept of calligraphy that Huh created. It signifies the collaboration of emotion and calligraphy. Huh’s works not only stay in expositions and museums but are used as designs for closets, beds and even Korean traditional costumes. “I tried to push Korean calligraphy out into the open rather than to leave it isolated from the public — stuck in the frame called ‘tradition’ or ‘oriental,’” Huh explains. “If it comes out into the open, people will know that Korean calligraphy is like a creative treasure box.” Huh’s unique style is gaining interest around the world. “The idea of expressing emotions within the smallest forms of letters — such as a dot or a stroke — can be highly attractive to everyone,” he says. ■ Emography on a Korean traditional costume Huh Hoi-tae 28 KOREA DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBER 2008 KOREA 29
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Page 5 and 6: COVER The Experience of Foreign Stu
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Page 9 and 10: DIPLOMACY Yonhap “Sets of bilater
Page 11 and 12: GLOBAL KOREA Yonhap Ramsar Changwon
Page 13: GLOBAL KOREA World Ocean Forum 2008
Page 17 and 18: CULTURE Royal Protocols of the Jose
Page 19 and 20: CULTURE Hanbok Artist Makes Style S
Page 21 and 22: PEOPLE Moon Young Doo Credia Japane
Page 23 and 24: ART A scene from “A Ballerina Who
Page 25 and 26: TRAVEL Inje Ice Fish Festival Night
Page 27 and 28: EVENTS Daegu Photo Biennale 2008 1
Page 29 and 30: BOOKS Goguryeo: In Search of Its Cu
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Seoul Lights Up for the Holiday Season - Korea.net

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