Five years ago, the family of Lee Kun-hee, the late Chairman of Samsung and a passionate collector of art and antiquities, made a remarkable bequest to South Korea’s national museums: more than 23,000 artworks and artefacts that Lee (who died in 2020) had amassed over his lifetime. Now more than 160 objects drawn almost exclusively from this collection have gone on display at the British Museum in a thought-provoking new exhibition tracing 2,000 years of creativity on the Korean peninsula.
Arranged chronologically, Korea’s displays offer a feast for the eyes, as well as a useful overview of key historical periods and events. Accompanied by a tranquil soundtrack of temple bells and birdsong, visitors encounter diverse objects reflecting important developments, including the introduction of bronze from China sometime after 1500 BC; the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BC-AD 676), when the Silla kingdom emerged from jostling rival states to unite most of the peninsula; the transformative impact of the arrival of Buddhism c.AD 300 and Neo-Confucianism in the 14th century; the Joseon period that witnessed one of the longest-lasting dynasties in world history (1392-1897); and the creation of the Hangeul alphabet in 1443.
Each section highlights artistic skill, local innovations, and external influences – from early bronze daggers and ceremonial rattles to glittering grave goods (chunky gold earrings, gilded burial slippers) from elite Silla tombs, as well as examples of misty blue-green celadon pottery and creamy porcelains, including ‘Moon Jars’. These latter vessels – uneven spheres, formed from two separately fired bowls, that were prized for their imperfections – belong to the time of the Joseon dynasty, when scholarly cultivation was the ideal (even as flourishing prosperity saw a growing appetite for material luxury within the new middle classes). A personal highlight within this part of the exhibition was a folding screen decorated to look like shelves crammed with books, imported pottery, and scholarly implements – pleasingly reminiscent of the fashion for bookcase wallpaper in our own times. This period saw a shift in landscape painting, too, moving away from idealised imaginary scenery towards ‘true-view’ depictions drawing on the real world: a particularly striking example on display is Clearing after Rain on Mount Inwang (created by Jeong Seon in 1751).
Emphasising the continued resonance of these themes, each section is also scattered with contemporary Korean artworks, complementing and offering new perspectives on the historical artefacts – as well as examples of references to famous artworks in popular culture, such as in the 2025 Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters. A sculpture by Yee Soo-kyung (above), made from fragments of celadon vessels and figures sourced from both North and South Korea, is especially compelling, its complex form suggesting a shattered past but also the possibility of renewal and rebuilding.
The traumatic events of the 20th century are treated sensitively, with an emphasis on the personal rather than the political. Poignant later displays explore the impact of the Korean War on ordinary people, including drawings scratched on to silver foil scavenged from chocolate wrappers and cigarette packs (art supplies were hard to come by during the conflict), and a touchingly simple painting of a man in a boat reaching towards his family, representing a longed-for reunion that never occurred. This brightly lit, brief final section comes somewhat abruptly after the meditative, atmospheric feel of the earlier displays, and the contrast creates both a potent sense of dislocation and a feeling of creative defiance, evoking resilience, resourcefulness, and hope for the future.
Excavating the CA archive: Major church buildings