Joseon nature paintings on display at Kansong Art Museum

The Kansong Art Museum opened its doors to the public for its biannual exhibition on Sunday, October 17, for an exhibition of paintings of flowers, animals, and birds.  The museum will remain open for two weeks, until Oct. 31.

Nestled in a quiet residential area in Seongbuk-dong, the Kansong Museum is one of the most unique and oldest museums in Korea.  It opens only for two weeks in May and two weeks in October each year, during which time hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the colonial-era building to catch a glimpse of some of Korea’s most rare and treasured artworks.

The museum was founded by Jeon Hyeong-pil in 1939 to house his growing collection of treasures.  Motivated by the urge to keep important works of art in Korea during the colonial period, much of Jeon’s family fortune went towards collecting masterpieces of painting, sculpture, calligraphy, printmaking, and ceramic work.  

Some the museum’s more famous pieces include Shin Yun-bok’s “Portrait of a Beauty (Miindo)” and National Treasure 68, a Goryeo celadon vase inlaid with cranes.  The only surviving original copy of King Sejong’s "Hunminjeongeum (proper sounds to teach people)" that remains in South Korea today is also housed at the museum.

The grounds of the museum hold as many delights as the building itself, with a variety of stone statues and pagodas dating from as far back as the Goryeo period.  There is also a small menagerie of animals, including white peafowl, and the charming gardens help set off the white stucco of the colonial building.

The collection on display to the public changes seasonally.  This fall, the exhibit focuses on paintings of flora and fauna, while past exhibitions have showcased landscape paintings, calligraphy, and celadon.  Other exhibitions have focused on individual artists and their works, including Shin Yun-bok. 

The current exhibition is an exciting mix of the elegant and the charming.  Kim Hong-do’s graceful “Ha Hwa Cheong Jeong (Lotus flower and dragonflies)” can be found in the upstairs gallery, while a tiger scroll by Kim Hong-re prowls downstairs.  Meanwhile, several of Joseon-era painter Byeon Sang-byeok’s beloved cats cavort under chrysanthemum flowers in “Guk Jeong Chu Myo.”

The exhibition also includes a number of pieces attributed to one of Korea’s most famous female artists, Shin Saimdang.  Featured on the 50,000 won note, Shin was famous even during her lifetime for her sensitive paintings, many of which depict flowers and animals. Shin remains a rare example of a publicly-hailed female artist of the Joseon era, and her works of painting and calligraphy continue to be admired today.

The Kansong Museum is located on Seongbukdong-gil, near Hansong University Station (subway line 4).  Visitors are welcome daily between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the run of the exhibition, and admission is free.