Park Jung-hye et al.: Korean Art Meets the World

The Beginning and Necessity of Research on the Overseas Collection of Modern Korean Artworks: “Korean Art, Meeting the World”. In the traditional sense, a collection—or *sujang*—is a concept that encompasses the entire process of gathering, appreciating, evaluating, preserving, and distributing artworks such as paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, and crafts, as well as antiques like bronze vessels; it is a cultural activity premised on a deep appreciation for art, as well as a distinct perspective and philosophy. In the traditional era, when modern distribution systems had not yet been established, art collectors played a role in economically supporting the art world and leading its direction through the purchase and appraisal of artworks. The modern era is a period in which this traditional concept and system of collection underwent significant transformation. Accordingly, this book was planned with the purpose of examining the collection of Korean artworks by foreigners during the period spanning from the Open Ports to the Japanese Colonial Period (commonly referred to as the Modern Era). Consequently, while foreign collectors and their collections reveal limitations in that they were acquired through a distorted perspective influenced by the prevalent Orientalism of the time, an academic attitude based on the study of contemporary material culture, and political interests, these collections have revealed the existence of modern artworks that had remained a void in Korean art until recently, and have once again confirmed the circulation of artworks and the dynamics of the art market. As research on foreign collectors has just taken its first steps, we look forward to the follow-up studies that will follow.

Korean title: 한국미술, 세계와 만나다

Korean author: 박정혜 외

Korean publisher: 민속원

ISBN-13: 9788928514496