The exhibition will be on display to the public from the 1st October 2026 until the 31st January 2027.
screen, ink and colour on paper Royal Bureau of
Painting Six – panel folding – screen, ink and colour on paper
© National Museum of Korea
The British Museum has unveiled details of its upcoming exhibition which will explore over two millennia of Korean art and culture.
Drawing on 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.
This exhibition is set to showcase 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.
The show 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.
Among the highlights of the exhibition will be: 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. Meanwhile, 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.
The purpose of the exhibition will be showing how Korea is a story of progression and change, of adaptation and innovation.
To book tickets visit: https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/korea