EXHIBITION "Korean Treasures in Belgium (re)discovered"

Celadons, Folding Screens, and Diplomatic Archives

31.03 > 13.05.2022 / Korean Cultural Center / Free

Curators: Nathalie Vandeperre (Curator of the East-Asian collections, Royal Museums of Art and History), Adrien Carbonnet(Director of the Center for Korean Studies, KU Leuven)

Opening on March 31 at 18:00

in the presence of H.E. Yoon Soongu, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Belgium and the European Union, Mr. Bruno Verbergt, General Director a.i. Royal Museums of Art and History, and Curators of the exhibition

To celebrate the 120th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Belgium, a project to restore Korean artifacts from the collection of the Royal Museums of Art and History was initiated as early as 2019. The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage successfully carried out this project, and the restored items; six pieces of celadon from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), a bronze kundika, a gilt-bronze case for acupuncture needles, were shown at the National Palace Museum of Korea in September 2021. They are now finally being displayed in Belgium for the first time.

This exhibition also features other valuable objects. A selection of documents from the Belgian diplomatic archive from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are also on display. They are of great historical significance since they trace the first contacts between our two countries, which eventually led to the conclusion of the Belgium-Korea Treaty of 1901. The original copies of this treaty in French and in Chinese will be displayed during the present exhibition.

Please click here to book your visit