Culture Minister Hwang Hee Announces Plan to Expand Korean Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's Antique Artworks Draw Attention from New York Art Scene
"We Will Make New York a Hub for Promoting Korean Cultural Content and Industry"

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee is meeting BTS, who visited the Korean Cultural Center in New York, USA, on the afternoon of the 22nd (local time). [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The expansion of the Korean Gallery within the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a representative American art museum in New York, is expected to be pursued.

If the expansion of the Korean Gallery is realized, it is anticipated that traditional artworks left by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee will also be exhibited in New York on a loan basis.

On the 22nd (local time), Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee explained the results of First Lady Kim Jung-sook's visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during a press briefing, saying, "the chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum proposed relocating the Korean Gallery to a larger space."

The Korean Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been criticized for being small, with an area of 165㎡, especially compared to the Chinese or Japanese galleries.

Minister Hwang explained, "Even if the Korean Gallery is expanded, rather than donating exhibits using our government budget, we can support it in the form of long-term loans of domestic artifacts."

He added that they are seeking an exchange exhibition with the Metropolitan Museum of Art based on the collection of Lee Kun-hee and the holdings of the Leeum Museum of Art.

Minister Hwang said, "Thanks to the artworks donated by the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee, we now have a foundation to negotiate on equal terms with overseas museums," and predicted that it would be possible to mutually exchange and exhibit modern and contemporary artworks from the Metropolitan and traditional Korean artworks.

According to the Ministry of Culture, the Metropolitan Museum expressed great gratitude and showed a favorable stance toward Korea, noting that the museum's social media accounts experienced the largest influx of visitors ever, thanks to the visits by First Lady Kim Jung-sook and BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan).

Minister Hwang expressed his ambition to prepare a new form of Korean promotion event that integrates Korean cultural content, industry, and distribution capabilities, coinciding with the construction of the New York Cultural Center building.

After touring the New York Cultural Center located in the heart of downtown New York, Minister Hwang said it would become a venue to promote Korea in the convergent smart era, linking culture as well as industry and distribution, and announced, "We will prepare a new form of Korean promotional event next year."