NMK News Card

NMK News Card

New Display

Renewal of Baekje Kingdom and Gaya Confederacy Galleries

The Baekje Kingdom and Gaya Confederacy galleries in the Prehistory and Ancient History section on the first floor of the Permanent Exhibition Hall have been renovated and reopened to the public. After four months of work on reorganizing and updating the two old exhibition rooms, the range of exhibits has been greatly expanded to show the results of the latest research. To this end, the exhibition is presented in a new way, departing from the flat and uniform methods, to introduce a new threedimensional, explanatory type of exhibition that visitors will find easier to enjoy. Notable exhibits include ornamental ridge-end tiles (chimi) from the Wangheungsa Temple site in Buyeo and a Lamp-shaped Pottery from the Ancient Tombs in Marisan tumuli, Haman. The Buyeo chimi, the oldest extant tile of its kind in Korea, is displayed in its complete form after reproducing the missing sections with a 3D printer. The Lamp-shaped Pottery is in the form of a mounted vessel with seven cup-shaped lamps. Discovered intact during a repeat excavation of the tombs in 2015, the lamp is now shown to the public. Other impressive exhibits include the items excavated from the ancient tombs in Suchon-ri, Gongju, and weapons from Gaya.

Lamp-shaped Pottery

Gaya /Confederacy Excavated from the Ancient Tombs in Marisan tumuli, Haman

Online Forum

2021 Children’s Museum Future Development Forum

The National Museum of Korea held “Children’s Museum Future Development Forum” on November 9, 2021, presented live on its YouTube channel. The forum was an opportunity to examine changes in children’s environment before and after COVID-19 and to explore the direction of the Children’s Museum in the era of “Living with COVID-19.”

Under the theme of “A Place for Children: Where and How,” the forum was divided into Part 1 “Children Who Learn” and Part 2 “Children Who Play,” with presentations and discussions on six topic areas, including creativity, architecture, psychology, and adventure. In the first part, George E. Hein, a world-renowned scholar in museum education, gave a keynote speech under the theme of “Children, Museums, and Education.” The second part featured a presentation by the architect Tezuka Takaharu, famous for his TED lectures and design of Fuji Kindergarten, selected as the world’s best kindergarten by OECD and UNESCO. Proceedings of this online forum can be downloaded from the website of the Children’s Museum of the National Museum of Korea.

Academic Journal

Gold Crown Ornaments of King Muryeong

Baekje Kingdom /L.30.7cm, W.14.0cm /National Treasure

Journal of Korean Art & Archaeology Vol. 16

The Journal of Korean Art & Archaeology Vol. 16, featuring a special report on “The Baekje Kingdom within East Asia: The Tomb of King Muryeong,” was published in December 2021. Through this journal, every year the National Museum of Korea translates into English papers in the fields of Korean archaeology, history, and art history for the global academic community.

The year 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Tomb of King Muryeong, and Vol. 16 of the journal features four papers on the topic: “Cultural Exchange and International Interaction in East Asia as Seen through the Tomb of King Muryeong,” “Research on Excavation and Investigation of the Tomb of King Muryeong,” “Cultural Exchange among the Three Kingdoms as Revealed by Artifacts from the Tomb of King Muryeong,” and “Critical Review on the Metalworks in the Tomb of King Muryeong.” As these titles indicate, the contents shed light on various research achievements, including excavation of the Tomb of King Muryeong and analysis of the items discovered there, and study of Baekje’s exchange with neighboring nations, enhancing understanding of Baekje Kingdom’s international relations during the reign of King Muryeong and the academic importance of the Tomb of King Muryeong in East Asian archaeology.

To further promote the international community’s interest in and understanding of Korean art, the journal also includes one paper on sixteenth-century “real scenery” landscape paintings of the Joseon Dynasty and one paper on the shape and production technique of a Gilt-bronze Standing Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva from Gyuam-ri, Buyeo.

ISSN 2577-9842

Overseas Exhibition

Faces of Koreans Seen in Australia: Five Hundred Arhats of Changnyeongsa Temple Site

Five Hundred Arhats of Changnyeongsa Temple Site: Reflection of Our Hearts by the Chuncheon National Museum and the National Museum of Korea, has fascinated the visitors with the faces of arhats resembling those of us living today. The same exhibition, shown to the overseas public for the first time, is being displayed at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Australia. The Powerhouse Museum had closed for a long time due to the spread of COVID-19 and chose the five hundred arhats as the subject of its first exhibition after reopening, which makes the exhibition all the more meaningful. In this exhibition, the Chuncheon National Museum presents one statue of the Buddha and fifty statues of Arhats. Delivering a message for self-reflection, the show consists of two parts, each presenting the arhats in nature and in a bustling city, respectively. Installation artist Kim Seungyoung and sound designer Oh Yoonseok who had participated in the exhibition in Korea, and perfume designer Ainslie Walker, collaborated this time to help the visitors look into their inner selves and concentrate on meditation. Unlike exquisite Korean masterpieces previously shown to the overseas public, the five hundred arhats show simple aspects of Korean beauty with their ordinary faces. As the title of the special feature of The Sydney Morning Herald “Move over, Squid Game: Arhats are the next thing out of Korea” says, the five hundred arhats of Changnyeongsa Temple Site are expected to present deep roots of Korean popular culture which is now gaining popularity.

WINTER 2022 07