Kim Sung-hee, Director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA). Image provided by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea.On September 14, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced the appointment of Kim Sung-hee as the next director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA). Kim will receive her official appointment on September 15 and begin her new duties on September 18.
Kim has served as executive director and co-founder of CAN Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports emerging artists through residency programs. She has also served as a professor of curatorial studies in the art management department at Hongik University and has worked as a curator, including heading the Incheon Biennale of Women Artists in 2007 and curating a special exhibition at the Gwangju Biennale in 2000.
The position of MMCA director is subject to a three-year term, making it sensitive to shifts in Korea’s political landscape. Kim Sung-hee’s appointment follows the departure of the previous director, Yun Bummo, who left his position at MMCA ahead of schedule in April due to political pressures associated with the changing political climate in Korea.
Kim was selected as the new director over two other final candidates, Kim Chan-dong and Shim Sang-yong, and Park Jong-dal had been serving as the interim acting director of the museum. MMCA operates four major venues in Korea, including two in central Seoul, one in Gwacheon, and a storage facility and collection display venue in Cheongju.
