Titled 《Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared》, the first overseas touring exhibition of the Lee Kun-hee Collection—donated by the late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Group—has attracted strong local interest, surpassing 15,000 visitors within its first month since opening at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C.
 
Donated to the Republic of Korea in 2021 by the family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee, the collection reflects more than 70 years of generational collecting and comprises more than 23,000 works, a testament to a decades-long commitment to preserving and sharing Korea’s artistic legacy and cultural heritage.
 
《Korean Treasures》 presents a remarkable selection from the collection to American audiences for the first time, alongside additional loans from the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, Korea, shown exclusively in Washington, D.C. This exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and draws from the National Bequest of Lee Kun-Hee’s Collection.

Featuring more than 200 works—including a dozen of National Treasures designated by the Korean government—this exhibition is the largest Korean art exhibition ever held at the National Museum of Asian Art, and the largest Korean art special exhibition presented in North America in over 40 years.
 
Spanning approximately 1,500 years of history, from ancient Buddhist sculpture and ceramics to painting, wooden furniture, and twentieth-century modern and contemporary art, the exhibition is organized into ten thematic sections. Together, these galleries illuminate the depth and diversity of Korean art from the premodern period through the twentieth century.

Related to the exhibition, a major international symposium dedicated to the topic of collecting Korean objects and paintings is planned for Jan. 22–23, 2026. Distinguished scholars from the United States, the United Kingdom and Korea will discuss topics including the historical development of collecting in Korea, the rise of the Korean art market, the formation of national collections and the collecting of Korean art abroad.
 
The exhibition, which premiered in Washington, D.C., will close on February 1, 2026, before traveling to the Art Institute of Chicago, where it will be on view from March 7 to July 5, 2026. Both venues feature a unique curatorial approach, highlighting different selections from the Lee Kun-Hee Collection.

References

• 스미소니언 국립아시아미술관 보도자료 (Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art Press Release)
• 스미소니언 국립아시아미술관, Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared (Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared)