Son Chang-geun Passes Away at 95
Donated Over 300 Pieces from the 'Son Segi & Son Chang-geun Collection'
Awarded the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2020
It was recently revealed that art collector Son Chang-geun, who donated several cultural heritages collected over generations, including the national treasure "Sehando" (歲寒圖), passed away on the 11th. He was 95 years old.
According to his son, Son Seong-gyu, a professor at Yonsei University, the deceased requested that no announcement of his death be made at the last moment, and the family held a quiet funeral in accordance with his wishes.
Born in 1929 in Kaesong, he graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Textile Engineering and continued the legacy of his businessman father, Son Se-gi (1903?1983), by collecting various types of cultural heritage such as paintings and ancient books.
He donated 304 precious cultural heritage items he had collected to the National Museum of Korea in November 2018. This included the first edition of the Korean Hangul book "Yongbieocheonga" compiled in 1447, and "Buliseonrando" by Chusa Kim Jeong-hui, which attracted significant attention.
Even the national treasure "Sehando," which was initially excluded from the donation, was given to the nation by him 1 year and 2 months later. This painting, created in 1844 by the 59-year-old Chusa during his exile in Jeju Island and given to his disciple Lee Sang-jeok, is considered a masterpiece expressing his physical and mental suffering and desolation through ink and rough brushstrokes. In January 2020, he donated "Sehando" to the National Museum of Korea without any conditions, reportedly after "careful consideration."
For these contributions, he received the highest honor among cultural medals, the Geumgwan Cultural Medal, in 2020. Since government awards began, he was the first to be awarded the Geumgwan Cultural Medal for cultural heritage.
In addition, he was noted for various philanthropic activities during his lifetime, including donating 100 million won to the National Museum of Korea as a research fund in 2008, donating 662 hectares (about 2 million pyeong) of forest land in the Yongin area of Gyeonggi Province to the Korea Forest Service in 2012, and in 2017, gifting buildings worth 5 billion won and 100 million won to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
