The State Hermitage Museum of Russia, one of the world`s largest and oldest, became the world`s third major museum to offer guide services in Korean, the other two being The British Museum and The Louvre in Paris.

According to Korean Air, which has sponsored the Korean language guide services to all three of the museums, the inaugural event was held inside The Hermitage on Monday attended by its director Mikhail Piotrovsky, chairman of Hanjin Group Jo Yang-ho, and South Korean Ambassador to Russia Lee Kyu-hyung.

Prior to the announcement, the St. Petersburg museum which lies along the embankment of the idyllic River Neva, offered guide services in five Western languages - English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. This will be the first time the museum will provide guidance in an Asian language.



The service is voiced and narrated by longtime MBC broadcast personality Kim Sung-joo and veteran theater actor Son Sook. Language experts and art historians from Korea were also brought in to participate in order to provide accurate and detailed information on 352 of the museum`s exhibits.

Korean Air will sponsor and produce the museum`s visitor directories and maps for the next 5-years using the latest in digital technology.

Chairman of Hanjin Group which owns Korean Air said, "In the past Korean tourists visiting the museum couldn`t be moved by the exhibited works because there wasn`t any Korean language guidance available to them" and added "but now with this new service, not only will Korean visitors be able enjoy what the museum has to offer but it will also promote cultural exchange between Russia and Korea."

The State Hermitage occupies six buildings, with the Winter Palace as its main attraction. The palace was the residence of the Russian tsars that was built to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-62.

Put together throughout two centuries, the Hermitage boasts a collection of more than 3 million works of art.

(kws@heraldm.com)



By Song Woong-ki