LEE KUN-HEE’S ART COLLECTION TO BE DONATED

[Anchor Lead]

Another piece of news about the Samsung family’s astronomical inheritance tax is grabbing the headline. The late Lee Kun-hee’s private art collection comprising of some 23,000 cultural artifacts and artworks has been donated. Beginning in June, the antique and art collection will be shown to the public in succession.

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Joseon-era painter Jeong Seon’s painting of Inwangsan Mountain after the rain. A masterpiece in the history of Joseon painting and a rare case of a Joseon-era painting being named Korea’s national treasure. The late Samsung chair’s collection ranges from bronze artifacts of ancient times to celadon pieces praised as the quintessence of Goryeo art as well as the last painting of Kim Hong-do, the most acclaimed painter of Joseon. Some 21,600 pieces of art from the late Lee Kun-hee’s private collection will be donated to the National Museum of Korea. He also owned “Ox” by Korea’s favorite painter Lee Jung-seop Park Soo-keun’s paintings portraying the simple life of an ordinary Korean and a painting of Kim Whan-ki, Korea’s most renowned contemporary and modern artist. These masterpieces and roughly 1,400 other works of contemporary artists will be donated to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Other remaining artworks will be given to local museums built in the artists’ hometowns and Seoul National University.

[Soundbite] Prof. Seo Jin-soo(Kangnam Univ.) : "The expanded exhibitions will provide researchers easier access to artworks and educational opportunities."

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art also stands to receive 19th-century Impressionist master Claude Monet’s “Water Lily pond” as well as the paintings of world-renowned masters such as Gauguin, Chagall, and Renoir, which are rarely exhibited in Korea. This magnitude of artwork donation by a single individual in both quantity and quality is unheard of anywhere in the world. The government expressed gratitude to the late Lee Kun-hee’s family for donating these precious antiques and artworks without any strings attached.

[Soundbite] Hwang Hee(Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism) : "This donation will enrich the cultural assets of the national museums and art museums, building the basis for them to grow to rival famous museums overseas."

The donated artifacts and paintings will be shown to the public in succession, starting with a special exhibit at the National Museum of Korea in June.