Lee Kun-hee exhibit at National Museum of Korea to go on world tour

Yoon Sung-yong, the newly appointed director-general of the National Museum of Korea, said Thursday that the popular Lee Kun-hee collection that is currently being exhibited at the museum as the special exhibit "A Collector's Invitation" will ..

Yoon Sung-yong, the newly appointed director-general of the National Museum of Korea, speaks to local press during his inaugural press conference on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Yoon Sung-yong, the newly appointed director-general of the National Museum of Korea, said Thursday that the popular Lee Kun-hee collection that is currently being exhibited at the museum as the special exhibit “A Collector’s Invitation” will begin touring across the world from 2025.

Yoon met with local reporters for the first time since being appointed to the post last month, and shared his plans as the new head of the state-run national museum.

“By the end of this year, we plan to complete registering the impressive and extensive national heritages and artworks donated by late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee in our database so that the collection can leave the country and be displayed in different museums across the world.”

The museum currently possesses about 93 percent of the Lee Kun-hee collection, which has 21,613 items, while the rest are in the collection by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

The Lee Kun-hee collection is planned to tour across the country after the current special exhibit comes to an end on Aug. 28. It will make stops at national museums in Gwangju, Daegu and Cheongju.

Yoon said the museum is currently in discussion with different museums overseas.

“The Art Institute of Chicago is planning to organize a large-scale special exhibit in 2026 to display the Lee Kun-hee collection,” said Yoon, adding that the museum is also in talks with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a smaller scale exhibit in 2025 in its Korean art gallery.

“The donation of precious art works by late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee will not only be an opportunity to attract international attention to Korea’s important art works, but also a great way to secure the best works to be exhibited in Korean art galleries across the world,” said Yoon.

“The list of items is still in discussion,” Yoon added.

Yoon said the museum will also help establish permanent Korean art galleries in major museums across the globe. This year, the museum will support the establishment of Korean galleries in six museums in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Yoon also shared his plans for the second half of this year, which is to make sure that the “museum reaches out to the people and the world.”

“A museum should be a space where everyone, regardless of their age, gender and social status, feels free to visit and enjoy high-quality cultural services and share various experiences,” said Yoon. “Based on this operation philosophy, we will make sure visitor satisfaction continues to remain our top priority.”

Yoon majored in history of Goguryeo (37 B.C. to A.D. 668) at Kyungppok National University. His first job at a museum was in 1997 as a researcher at Daegu Museum’s department of antiquities. He then served as the director of Cheongju National Museum and the National Folk Museum of Korea for the past 25 years. Until being appointed as the director-general, Yoon worked as the head of the research department at the National Museum of Korea from January of last year.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]