First Lady Kim Jung-sook Visits BTS at the Korean Pavilion of the US Metropolitan Museum... "Hope Korean Beauty Spreads Worldwide"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 20th (local time), Kim Jung-sook, who is visiting New York with President Moon Jae-in for the United Nations General Assembly, visited the Korean Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States along with BTS, appointed as Future Culture Ambassadors, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee, and Cho Yoon-jeung, Director of the New York Korean Cultural Center.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, considered one of the world's top three art museums, was established in New York City in 1870 and is the largest art museum in the United States, attracting over 7 million visitors in 2019. The Korean Gallery opened in 1998 and serves as a frontline base for promoting Korean culture and art to the world.

At the Korean Gallery, Kim Jung-sook viewed the gilt-bronze pensive Bodhisattva statue, moon jars, inlaid celadon, Joseon Dynasty rank badges, bird-and-flower folding screens, as well as modern Buncheong ceramics and contemporary women's rank badges. She said, "Various cultural heritages and modern works from Korea, the country of K-Culture, are serving as cultural diplomatic envoys," adding, "I hope the Korean Gallery at the Met becomes a meaningful space that conveys Korea and Korean aesthetics to the world."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, after visiting the Korean Gallery, Kim Jung-sook and the Korean delegation including the Future Culture Ambassadors handed over Korean crafts to the Metropolitan Museum of Art officials to be showcased at the upcoming 'Korean Najeon Chilgi (Lacquerware with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay) Special Exhibition' scheduled to open in December. The work 'Osaek Gwangyul (Five-colored Radiance)' by artist Jeong Hae-jo, made by layering traditional Korean hemp fabric called sambe with natural lacquer, is a piece held and exhibited at world-renowned institutions such as the British Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK.

Present at the visit were Metropolitan Museum CEO Daniel Weiss, Director Max Hollein, and Maxwell Hearn, Chairman of the Department of Asian Art.