British Museum to display Lee Kun-hee collection — Korea Herald
The exhibition “Korea: 2,000 Years of Creativity,” featuring works from the collection of late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, will open at the British Museum in London, United Kingdom, on October 1. The exhibition spans Korean art from ancient times to the present day and will run until January 31, Korea Herald reports.
Final overseas stop
The exhibition was jointly organized by the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. It includes items that Lee Kun-hee’s family donated to the country’s national museums after his death in 2020.
The London exhibition will be the third and final stop of the overseas tour. It was previously shown at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington in November 2025 and at the Art Institute of Chicago in March.
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Treasures and contemporary works
The National Museum of Korea provided 164 items representing 79 works for the exhibition, while the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea contributed another 15 works. The selection includes 10 National Treasures and 13 Treasures. In particular, bronze artifacts from Bisan-dong in Daegu, designated as a National Treasure, will be shown to the public for the first time.
The exhibition is divided into four sections: “Wealth and Power,” “Wisdom and Beauty,” “Learning and Pleasure,” and “Individuality and Community.” Visitors will see Goryeo celadon, Buddhist paintings from the Three Kingdoms period, as well as Jeong Seon’s Joseon Dynasty painting “After Rain at Mount Inwangsan.”
The final section will feature works by Park Soo-keun, Kim Whanki, Lee Jung-seop and Chang Ucchin, Shin Hak-chul’s 1982–1983 work “Modern History of Korea — Synthesis,” and Nam June Paik’s 1993 video sculpture “Brahms.” Works from the British Museum’s Korean gallery will be displayed alongside the exhibits from Korea.
