CLEVELAND - Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, a landmark international exhibition, explores the artistic legacy of the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) in relation to their beliefs about death and the afterlife in Korea. Organized in partnership with the National Museum of Korea, the exhibition presents an exceptional array of important artworks, including Korea’s national treasure and the CMA’s recent acquisitions—the Fourth King of Hell from the late 1300s, the Knife Sheath from the 1100s (Apollo’s Acquisition of the Year Award 2022), and the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva from the 1300s, as well as a newly rediscovered Goryeo-period Water Moon Avalokiteśvara. Developed and curated by Dr. Sooa Im McCormick, Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience the visual culture of the afterlife as it was imagined and understood in medieval Korea.

The exhibition unfolds across three interlocking sections, each illuminating the soul’s passage from death through purgatory to the Buddhist paradise. At its dramatic center is the historic reunification of all 10 scrolls. This set of 10 awe-inspiring Ten Kings of Hell hanging scrolls, which are currently housed in six different museums around the world, is reunited in the exhibition for the first time since the 1960s. Of particular significance is the Third King, whose whereabouts remained unknown for more than 50 years. Its recent rediscovery in the Museum of Modern Art in Gunma, Japan, transformed this exhibition into a celebratory venue, prompting new scholarly understanding of the 10 Kings imagery tradition in Korea.

Equally important was the discovery of a note concerning the set’s provenance alongside the Third King scroll. Containing a statement by the highly respected Japanese art historian Wakimoto Rakushiken (1883–1963), who served on various national committees of important cultural properties, this note reveals that the set had been preserved in a Buddhist temple in Nagoya, but was sold in the late 1800s when the temple faced financial hardship in the aftermath of the Meiji government’s anti-Buddhist policies.

On view from Sunday, October 11, 2026, through Sunday, January 3, 2027, in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall, this ticketed exhibition features more than one hundred works drawn from leading public and private collections in Korea, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including works from the CMA’s renowned Korean collection. The exhibition is closed on Tuesday, December 1, 2026, for a rotation of works. The Third King of Hell from Gumma is replaced by Gala Porras-Kim’s The Third King of Hell Afterimage (2025), and a set of Chinese Southern Song-period Ten Kings of Hell, on loan from the Nara National Museum, is installed.

The exhibition delves into global and transregional aspects of artworks, ranging from ceramics and paintings to textiles that produced and consumed in Buddhist death rituals. Additional notable artworks include:

• Anicka Yi’s Bending Willow Branches (2025)

• Park Chan-kyong’s Belated Bosal (2019)

• Do Ho Suh, Karma Juggler (2007)

• The Third King of Hell Afterimage (2025) by 2025 MacArthur Fellow Gala Porras-Kim, created specifically for the exhibition

Among its most compelling narratives, the exhibition examines how sociopolitical upheavals and environmental pressures shaped medieval Korea’s deep preoccupation with purgatorial afterlife—not only as a moral and devotional terrain but also as a response to broader natural forces, from climatic volatility during the Little Ice Age to the devastating reach of the Black Death. A select group of contemporary artworks is also included to underscore the enduring resonance of humanity’s existential concerns.

“Beliefs in the afterlife are common across diverse cultural and spiritual traditions; many hold that death is not the end, but rather a continuation of existence in another form,” says Dr. Sooa Im McCormick, Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art. “While the exhibition offers an immersive journey into the Korean afterlife, it also invites visitors to consider humanity’s universal curiosity about what lies beyond death. By exploring death and the afterlife, I hope that this exhibition offers a compelling lens through which to consider enduring existential questions that connect medieval Korea with contemporary audiences in the US.”

Additionally, the exhibition incorporates innovative digital experiences that deepen engagement with the artworks and themes. Visitors can interact with a Sutra Container in 3-D and to look closer into the artwork by exploring intricate details of select paintings on a large-scale “Zoom Wall.” These visual experiences are carefully designed to create a multisensory experience, from the meditative resonance of a Buddhist temple bell to the evocative projection of contemporary works.
 

Catalogue

Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea (coedited by Sooa Im McCormick, Korea Foundation Curator of Korea Art and Yukio Lippit, Jeffrey T. Chambers and Andrea Okamura Professor of History of Art and Architecture, Japanese Art, Harvard University) is a substantial, richly illustrated catalogue, anchored in the contributing scholars’ shared commitment to transregional and interdisciplinary investigation.

The Fourth King of Hell (제4 오관왕), late 1300s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold ink on silk; image: 63 x 45.3 cm; overall: 136.2 x 58.9 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund and museum purchase from various donors by exchange and Partial Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D., 2019.224

Standing Ksitigarbha (지장보살), 1300–1350, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk; painting: 102.6 x 43.2 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 2025.141.

Knife Sheath (장도집), 1100s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Gilt silver (body) and brass (trefoil-shaped ring); length: 21.7 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2022.38.

Celadon Cup with Molded Lotus Petal Design (청자 음각 연꽃잎무늬 잔), 1100s–1200s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Celadon; height: 11 cm; diameter of rim: 10.7 cm; diameter of foot: 8.7 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. Sang-goo Kong in celebration of the museum’s Korean art collection, 2025.180.

Celadon Dish with Molded Phoenix Design in the Shape of a Flower (청자 봉황무늬 꽃모양 접시), 1200s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Celadon; height: 2.7 cm; diameter of rim: 8.3 cm; diameter of base: 5.5 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. Sang-goo Kong in Honor of Dr. William Griswold, 2025.178.

Stone Coffin Adorned with the Four Guardian Deities (사신문석관), 918–1392, orea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Stone; overall: 37 x 84.2 x 45 cm. National Museum of Korea, Sinsu 5880.

Lotus flower-shaped incense burner (「대강삼년」이 새겨진 연꽃 모양 청동 향로), 1077, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Bronze; height: 14.7 cm; diameter: 18.8 cm. National Museum of Korea, Deoksu 5751.

Buddhist Portable Shrine (은제소형불감과 관음보살입상, 천왕입상), 918–1392, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Gilt silver; height (statue): 4.1 cm. National Museum of Korea

Golden Accessary (순금 장신구), 918–1392, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Gold; 4.9 cm. National Museum of Korea, Deoksu 5714.

Anicka Yi (Korean, b. 1971), Bending Willow Branches, 2025. PMMA optical fiber, LEDs, silicone, acrylic, epoxy, aluminum, stainless steel, steel, brass, motors and microcontrollers; 144 x 70 x 70 cm. Courtesy the artist, Gladstone Gallery and Esther Schipper Berlin/Paris/Seoul. Photo © Andrea Rossetti. © Anicka Yi / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026. © Anicka Yi Studio

Do Ho Suh (서도호) (South Korean, b. 1962), Karma Juggler, 2007. Colored pencil on paper; sheet: 154 x 209.2 cm (60 5/8 x 82 3/8 in.); frame: 167 x 222.3 x 7 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Dr. Kun Chee Casey Youn and Chan Ju Julianne Youn, and the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, 2008.36. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. © Do Ho Suh / Lemann Maupin, New York/Seoul/London

The Fifth King of Hell (제5염라왕), late 1300s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold ink on silk; mount: 134.5 x 59.1 cm; painting: 62 x 45.2 cm. National Museum of Korea, Koo 7479

Unicorn-shaped Incense Burner (청자 기린모양 향로), 1100s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Stoneware with celadon glaze; height (overall): 20.9 cm ; diameter: 18 cm. Collection of Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul. Courtesy of Amorepacific Museum of Art

Avalokitesvara (금동관음보살좌상), 1300s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Gilt bronze; height: 15.5 cm. National Museum of Korea, Bongwan 11724, Treasure

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Guardian Deities (지장보살도), 1300s, Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk; 104 x 55.3 cm. Leeum Museum of Art, Treasure. Courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art

Noh Sang Kyoon (노상균) (Korean, b. 1958), For the Worshipers, 2007. Sequins, polyester resin, and fiberglass; 165.1 x 53.3 x 58.4 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, 2008.540. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Thomas R. DuBrock. © Noh Sang Kyoon / Gallery Simon, Seoul

Venerable Song Cheon (송천) (Korean), Avalokitesvara and Mary ― The Truth Has Never Left My Side, 2025. Pigment on Korean traditional paper; each: 410 x 156 cm. Courtesy the artist. Photo © Venerable Song Cheon. © Venerable Song Cheon