[Treasures from National Museum of Korea] Celadon Bowl with Inlaid Grape and Child Design

Period: Goryeo Kingdom Materials: Celadon Decorated with both relief and inlay techniques, this bowl represents an early form of inlaid celadon. Its interior is covered with molded designs of flowers, grapevines and children. Black slip highlights the children’s outlines and the folds of their clothing, while white slip defines their bodies. With innocent expressions, the children are depicted holding lotus blossoms or seed pods, or aiming slingshots at birds.

2026-08-05 10:58:56:00

MMCA, Tokyo Institute to trace Korea-Japan art exchanges through archives

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, will launch a five-year study of archival materials tracing how Korean artists' studies and careers in Japan shaped modern and contemporary Korean art and artistic exchanges between the two countries. Under a recent agreement with the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, MMCA will examine records concerning Korean artists who studied or worked in Japan from the 1920s through the 1990s during the Japanese colonial er

2026-08-04 14:06:16:00

[Photo News] Inside Korea’s last empire

A portrait of Emperor Gojong, Korea’s oldest surviving national flag, or Taegeukgi, and relics of early independence activists have returned to public view as the National Museum of Korea reopened its renovated gallery dedicated to the Korean Empire (1897-1910) on Thursday. Located on the first floor of the museum’s permanent exhibition wing, the gallery brings together 65 objects, including seven state-designated treasures. Among the highlights are three royal seals and the “Uigwe,” or royal pr

2026-07-31 15:59:04:00

Christine Sun Kim turns sign language into a monumental fight against the world

Black lines stretch across the walls and floor of the Seoul Box, while an animation unfolds on a towering curved screen overhead. Located at the hub of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the Seoul Box is the museum's tallest exhibition hall, designed for monumental, site-specific installations. Korean American artist Christine Sun Kim visualizes sound in her own language, expanding perceptions of how people communicate in an audio-centric world. Her works also confront th

2026-07-31 15:58:40:00

How spoons became part of Korean culture

Few everyday objects appear as often in Korean expressions as the spoon. Among them are the instruction to “not lift your spoon before the eldest person at the table begins eating,” a well-known rule of dining etiquette, and the saying to “put one’s spoon on (the table),” a reference to placing your spoon on a meal that someone else has prepared, meant as a criticism of someone who jumps in at the last minute to take credit for someone else’s work. More recently, the terms “gold spoon” and “dirt

2026-07-31 09:00:00:00

With abandoned materials, Sook Jin Jo finds life beyond death

Entering Sook Jin Jo's exhibition at Seoul Museum of Art's Nam-Seoul branch, visitors encounter reclaimed railroad ties, weathered rafters and discarded timber. At first, the atmosphere feels solemn. But the longer one lingers, the more the abandoned materials seem to pulse with unexpected vitality. Despite using materials that evoke decay and mortality, the exhibition is not about death. It is about how life emerges from what has been left behind. "I don't treat death as something dark," Jo sai

2026-07-30 16:01:21:00

Korean art market rebounds in first half, but growth remains concentrated: report

South Korea's art market nearly doubled in value in the first half of this year, but growth was driven more by sizeable sales than a broader recovery, according to a report by the Korea Art Authentication and Appraisal Institute. Combined sales at seven domestic auction houses reached 110.8 billion won ($75,700) in the January-June period, up 99.05 percent from the same period last year, the report showed on Monday. The number of lots offered, however, fell 11.03 percent during the period from 9

2026-07-28 14:34:43:00

VANK urges Met Museum to revise Korean gallery texts over historical framing

South Korea's cyber diplomacy group VANK has called on New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to revise texts in its Korean gallery, arguing that several descriptions present a biased interpretation of Korean history and culture. The organization said Monday it will launch a campaign urging the museum to amend what it described as four problematic historical and cultural narratives embedded in gallery texts dedicated to Korean art. "The findings were made during VANK's recent visit to the United

2026-07-27 14:42:00:00

Korea to overhaul architect licensing system after 15-year transition

The architect licensing system will be overhauled following the completion of a 15-year transition to internationally aligned eligibility requirements. Beginning in 2027, only graduates of five-year university architecture programs or graduate schools who have completed at least three years of practical training at architectural firms will be eligible for the national licensing examination, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Sunday. The change marks the end of a t

2026-07-27 13:55:48:00

Korea Artist Prize spotlights AI, memory, politics of images

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has unveiled works by the four artists selected for its annual Korea Artist Prize that explore how images, technology and memory shape the way we perceive the world. The exhibition, which runs July 24 to Dec. 6 at MMCA Seoul, features newly commissioned works by Lee Haeminseon, Lee Jung-woo, Jeon Hyun-sun and Hong Jin-hwon. The four artists, who work in painting, installation, photography, video and digital media, explore how images, tech

2026-07-26 12:33:26:00