Curator Sunwoo Hwang ©Sunwoo Hwang
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has named Sunwoo Hwang its inaugural Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art and Culture through Korea Foundation (KF).
This position was established with funding support from KF to promote the stable development of Korean art in leading museums overseas and to lay the groundwork for the mid- to long-term expansion of Korean art abroad. The endowed curatorial position will be operated in perpetuity through a joint fund established by KF and the museum to operate a dedicated Korean endowed curatorial position from 2022.
Curator Sunwoo Hwang, who was selected through an open call by the museum, holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and completed a Ph.D. program in Buddhist art at Dongguk University. Hwang will reinstall a permanent Korean exhibition at the Freer and expand and diversify the museum’s collection through donations and acquisitions.
In addition, she will shape a major Korean art loan exhibition already scheduled for 2025–2026 from the National Museum of Korea featuring masterworks recently donated by the family of former Samsung Corp. chairman Lee Kun-hee. Hwang will also create an ambitious and engaging scholarly program and drive innovative cultural programming at the museum.
