Attributed to court painters, Ten symbols of longevity, ten-panel folding-screen, ink and colour on silk, 1800–1900. Photo © National Museum of Korea.

LONDON - A new exhibition at the British Museum will explore over two millennia of Korean art and culture, offering a fresh perspective on the peninsula's rich creative history.

Drawing on exceptional works from the collection of the late Samsung Chairman, Lee Kun-Hee, this will be the first major exhibition on Korea's art and history at the British Museum in over 40 years. 

Spanning from 300 BC to the present day, Korea reveals how the country's artists and craftspeople have continually demonstrated creativity, resilience and superb technical skill, while absorbing outside influences to create a distinctive and enduring cultural identity.

At a time when Korean culture has an unprecedented global presence, often described as the Korean Wave, or hallyu, this exhibition offers important context for understanding its deeper historical roots. Since the 1990s, the Korean Wave has driven the global popularity of South Korea's cultural economy, exporting music, film, television and wider pop culture worldwide. By placing Korea's rich artistic heritage in a broader historical perspective, the exhibition reveals continuities and connections that extend far beyond the present moment.

The exhibition will trace Korea's artistic and cultural history chronologically, bringing together seminal works, many designated National Treasures, on loan from the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, alongside works from the British Museum. The objects on display are drawn from the recent donation of over 23,000 objects from Lee Kun-Hee's collection to Korea's national museums. This extraordinary gift has made possible a landmark exhibition that not only illuminates Korea's artistic heritage but also reflects the longstanding dedication of one of its most important collectors.

The exhibition presents historic national treasures alongside modern and contemporary works, creating a dynamic conversation across time. From the technical mastery of Goryeo celadon ceramics, renowned for their luminous blue-green glaze and intricate inlay, to the restrained elegance of Joseon porcelain shaped by Confucian ideals, historic objects are recontextualised through their relationship with contemporary society. This approach reveals how artists across centuries have continually revisited and reinterpreted the past, sustaining a living tradition while pushing creative boundaries.

Among the highlights are bronze ritual implements dating to 300–100 BC, and a 13th-century gourd-shaped celadon ewer, an exquisite example of Korea's refinement in ceramic technology, alongside rare Buddhist paintings that embody both spiritual devotion and artistic sophistication. A masterpiece of landscape painting, Jeong Seon's Clearing after the Rain on Mount Inwang evokes the restless spirit of Seoul's Mount Inwang through rain-darkened ridgelines and drifting layers of mist. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who favoured idealised imaginary landscapes, Jeong Seon transformed Korean landscape painting by depicting a distinctly recognisable local landmark with emotional depth. The selection also includes a work by Nam June Paik, the visionary artist widely regarded as a pioneer of video art.

A new Museum acquisition by internationally acclaimed Do Ho Suh features as another key highlight, connecting themes of identity, migration and memory. Presented alongside historic objects, it underscores the exhibition's central theme: the enduring dialogue between Korea's past and present, and the ways in which cultural identity is continually redefined.

Korea is a story of progression and change, of adaptation and innovation. It offers a compelling insight into how creativity, technical skill, and cultural dynamism have defined Korean art and culture across time.

Sang-ah Kim, Curator of Korean collections, said: 'By diving deep into the circumstances under which objects were made, this exhibition offers insight into makers and patrons across the centuries. A sutra inscribed by a deposed queen, an ink landscape of a mountain in Seoul, a painting of quasi-nude figures ambling through an imagined paradise, and sketches inscribed on cigarette foil: these images not only illuminate Korea's history but also carry personal messages that resonate across time and cultures.'

Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, Director of the British Museum, said: 'Over two thousand years, Korean art has developed through constant exchange, adaptation and reinvention. This exhibition brings together extraordinary works from across that long history, allowing visitors to see how ideas and forms have been reimagined across generations, and how a distinctive cultural identity has been continuously shaped in dialogue with the wider world to this very day.'

Dr You Hong-June, Director of National Museum of Korea, said: 'The Lee Kun-Hee Collection's international tour has achieved remarkable success in Washington DC and Chicago. Now at the British Museum, the exhibition presents a fresh narrative of Korea through a compelling selection featuring more National Treasures than the previous two venues. In the heart of London, visitors can discover the very roots of K-culture, which is enjoying worldwide popularity. I look forward to welcoming many K-culture fans from across the UK and Europe.'

Simon Sung, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe, said: 'Samsung is delighted to partner with the British Museum on this exhibition. Korean culture has never been more relevant than it is today, and this exhibition offers a powerful connection to the roots of Korea's cultural heritage. It brings together a selection of the expansive artworks donated to Korea by the family of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, reflecting their enduring commitment to preserving and sharing Korea's rich cultural legacy with the world.'

Korea will run 1 October 2026 – 31 January 2027 in The Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery at the British Museum.

Pedestal with animal figurines, stoneware, Korea, Three Kingdoms period, AD 400–500. Stoneware with appliqué decoration. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH5343

This tall pedestal was made to support a vessel containing food or wine – a ritual offering, probably for use in a burial ceremony. The wheel-thrown pedestal was pierced with cut-out designs and decorated with combed patterns. It was further adorned with moulded figurines of animals, perhaps the kind of creatures once owned or hunted by the deceased.

Bodhisattva triad with a single halo, gilt bronze, Korea, Three Kingdoms period, AD 500 - 600. © National Museum of Korea. LKH4, National Treasure
 

Sculptures played an essential role in disseminating Buddhist faith. Dazzling gilt-bronze images, in particular, embodied divine power.
Made for personal devotion — perhaps in domestic shrines — these small icons reveal the stylistic development of early Korean Buddhist sculpture.
The earliest work features an ethereal central bodhisattva (enlightened being) figure, wrapped in robes that fan out in swallow-tail folds.

Avalokiteshvara (Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion), holding a kundika (water bottle), gilt bronze, Korea, Three Kingdoms period, AD 600–700. National Treasure. Photo © National Museum of Korea.

First introduced to Korea in AD 300s, Buddhism transformed not only spiritual life but art, architecture and culture as well. In gleaming gilt-bronze, this small seventh-century sculpture of a bodhisattva (enlightened being) captures the spirit of personal devotion. A product of the late Three Kingdoms period, the figure embodies a new sculptural sensibility celebrating the natural grace of the human form.

Gourd-shaped ewer with chrysanthemum design, celadon with inlaid white and black slip, Korea, Goryeo dynasty, 1200–1300s. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH193.

Among the most celebrated achievements in ceramic history, Goryeo celadon is renowned for its luminous bluish-green glaze – likened to jade and kingfisher feathers. This ewer showcases the sanggam inlay technique, where designs incised into unfired clay are filled with slip, revealing vivid motifs against the glaze after firing – as technically accomplished as it is graceful in its nature-inspired form.

The Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra from The Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka Sutra). Concertina book; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper, Korea, Goryeo dynasty, about 1341–67. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH16, National Treasure.

In the Buddhist world, copying or commissioning a sutra (sacred text) is an act of profound devotion. The Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra of The Flower Garland Sutra follows Sudhana's search for enlightenment through 55 teachers. The frontispiece, possibly painted by a court artist, illustrates the journey's climax: Sudhana stands worshipfully before the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, shown seated at left, as Vairocana, the Cosmic Buddha, looks on from the right. It is a masterpiece of the dense and meticulous brushwork that is characteristic of the Goryeo period.

Flaming mirror on lion-shaped pedestal, wood with coloured pigments and metal, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 1600–1700. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH4302.

Made of carved, painted wood, this dynamic sculpture bristles with Buddhist symbolism. A lion – embodying courage and spiritual power – bears a vase from which a lotus, symbolising purity and enlightenment, blooms, supporting a mirror encased in flames. Made as a symbolic or ritual object, used in Halls of Judgement in temples, it reflects the enduring vitality of Buddhist craft and belief throughout the Joseon period.

Jeong Seon (1676–1759), Clearing after rain on Mount Inwang. Ink on paper, Joseon dynasty, 1751. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH1, National Treasure.

Created when Jeong Seon was 75, this painting captures a peak he had known intimately – its rain-soaked rocks heavy with moisture, mist rising through the valleys below. A pioneer of 'true view' landscape painting, in contrast to the Chinese tradition of idealised, imaginary landscape that had gone before, Jeong Seon rendered not just the mountain's form but its mood, producing a work of such exceptional beauty that it was designated a National Treasure.

Faceted bottle with bamboo design, porcelain with cobalt blue underglaze, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 1700–1800s. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH13, National Treasure.

For Joseon's Neo-Confucian elite, plain white porcelain embodied the purity of an upright character – its restraint a rebuke to ostentation. This bottle exemplifies the finest work of Joseon potters: its graceful proportions and octagonal faceting animate the surface as light shifts. The bamboo – a symbol of scholarly virtue, here painted in cobalt by a court artist, spreads elegantly across each surface of the bottle.

Attributed to the Royal Bureau of Painting, Sun, Moon and Five Peaks, six-panel folding screen; ink and colour painting, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 1800s. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH4056.

In Joseon, painting served as a powerful expression of royal authority. This folding screen, depicting the sun, moon, and five peaks, symbolises a cosmos in perfect harmony — imagery reserved exclusively for Joseon's kings. Placed behind the king whether seated on his throne or presiding over outdoor ceremonies, it conveyed a sense of majesty and dignity while signalling the ruler's role in maintaining order within the universe.

Ten symbols of longevity, 1800–1900. Attributed to court painters, ten-panel folding-screen, ink and colour on silk © National Museum of Korea, LKH4053
 

Paintings of the Ten Symbols of Longevity were popular in the private quarters of Joseon royals. The sun, clouds, mountains, waterfalls, pine trees, peach trees, bamboo, lingzhi mushrooms, deer, cranes and tortoises are all found in the Chinese Daoist iconography of immortality; combining ten or more of these symbols in a single picture was a uniquely Korean innovation.

Tiger and magpie, ink and colour on paper, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 1800–1900. Photo © National Museum of Korea, LKH4071.

The pairing of tigers and magpies is a beloved motif in Korean folk painting (minhwa). Traditionally, tigers were seen as symbols of authority and magpies as harbingers of good fortune. Here, the crouching tiger sports a mischievous grin, while a pair of magpies flutter above, scolding it with their chirps. Such images made it possible to poke fun at self-important officials – aka the tiger – giving a new spin on old motifs.

Kim Insoong (1911–2001), Woman in a red dress. Oil on canvas, 1965. National Treasure. Photo © National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, PA-09236.

In the 20th century, the Korean art world was dominated by painters either working in traditional East Asian modes, or those embracing European art trends such as abstraction. Kim Insoong took a different approach, based on the training he received in Japan, he applied realism and oil painting techniques to Korean subjects. Here, the poised woman and the moon jar nearby capture the hybrid material culture of Korea in the 1960s.

Do Ho Suh (b.1962), Self-portrait, 2019, Thread embedded in cotton paper © Trustees of the British Museum, 2026,3010.1
 

Do Ho Suh has built an international career and now lives in London. However Seoul remains a touchstone in his work and he has often spoken of his nostalgia for home. In this imaginative and
touching Self-portrait, a traditional Korean house outlined with thread in brilliant shades hovers over the artist, suggesting both entrapment and protection.