Historic Exhibition

[Anchor Lead]

Chun Hyung-pil is known for his efforts to safeguard Korean cultural assets against colonial Japan. He also founded Korea's very first private art museum. This year marking the centennial of the 1919 Independence Movement, an exhibition is under way where historical relics that have survived, thanks to Chun's preservation are gathered at one place.

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This celadon is a regal piece of work with its elegantly flowing curves. It once went into Japanese hands but Chun Hyung-pil whose pen name is Kansong brought it back to Korea at the cost of 20 houses at the time. This celadon water dropper is in the shape of a mother monkey holding her baby. The petite figure is just 10 centimeters tall but facial features are delicately expressed. Chun went over to Japan himself and persuaded a Western collector to bring this relic back home.

[Soundbite] Lee Ye-in(Gwanak-gu Dist., Seoul) : "It was uniquely Chun's way of contributing to the independence movement which makes it more special."

After arduously collecting cultural properties in this way, he set up Bohwagak in 1938 for their preservation. Bohwagak literally means a house protecting treasures. This was the country's very first private art gallery and the origin of the renowned Kansong Art Museum Koreans know today.These relics were shown to the public only twice a year in the spring and fall. Spectators would form long lines of several hundred meters to get a glimpse of the collection.

[Soundbite] Chun In-keon(Director, Kansong Art Museum) : "I believe the collection represents the spirit to revive and restore Korea's cultural pride destroyed during the colonial era and lay a foundation for the future."

The ongoing exhibition is the last outside viewing of the precious relics painstakingly defended by Kansong, after which they will be returned to the Kansong Art Museum.