The sounding board group advising the Princessehof

on its Korea exhibition enjoys an exclusive guided tour during the construction of exhibition

The exhibition KOREA. Gateway to a rich past opens in the Princessehof on 16 October. The museum in Leeuwarden developed this new exhibition with a sounding board group consisting of Dutch Koreans and Korea experts. On Friday, 1 October, the members were given a sneak preview of the exhibition. Because of the coronavirus, all the previous meeting had been held online, and this was the first time the sounding board group met in person. The members have had an important influence on the exhibition. Two of them share personal anecdotes in the form of audio stories, which can be heard in the exhibition. Some of the panel members will also present guided tours, which can be booked via the museum's website soon.

Jörgen Tjon a Fong, known from the podcast Museum in the Making and his involvement with exhibitions such as Zwart in Rembrandt's tijd and the Slavery exhibition in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, was engaged as moderator for the sounding board meetings. The eleven panel members contributed ideas and provided feedback on the plans for the exhibition, from content to design and from marketing to the programme of activities.

From 16 October, the personal stories of two participants can be heard in the exhibition. Annejil Suk talks about Korean food culture and how it is linked to her identity. She was born in Korea but grew up in Friesland. In 2013 she started serving Korean food from her foodtruck Seoul Sister, and opened the restaurant Seoulmates in 2018. Annejil will also present a kimchi workshop at the museum on 24 October. You can register via the website: www.princessehof.nl. Kyusun, another panel member, also narrated an audio story for the exhibition. She came to study in Leeuwarden, where she met her husband Bas. In the audio story, they talk about the cultural differences between Korea and the Netherlands.

KOREA. Gateway to a rich past
This major exhibition on Korea in the Princessehof in Leeuwarden can be visited from 16 October 2021 to 21 August 2022. Nowadays we know Korea from brands like Samsung and Kia, the unprecedented popularity of K-Pop groups like BTS, Korean cuisine, and the Oscar-winning film Parasite. With the exhibition KOREA. Gateway to a rich past The Princessehof delves into the cultural history of this extraordinary country. Highlights from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul are coming to Leeuwarden especially for the exhibition. These range from enchanting celadon from the Goryeo dynasty and a moon jar from the Joseon period to musical instruments and costumes from the Gugak Centre in Seoul and Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden. The museum is also exhibiting exceptional works by three contemporary South Korean artists: Yee Sookyung (1963), Juree Kim (1980) and Kyung-Jin Cho (1987).

This exhibition has been made possible by the Mondriaan Fund (the public fund for visual art and cultural heritage), the Korea Foundation, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and her Angela E fund, Foundation Van Achterbergh - Domhof and the Society of Friends of the Princessehof.

Partners of the Princessehof: Ottema-Kingma Foundation, Society of Friends of the Princessehof and Club Céramique.

The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics is co-financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Municipality of Leeuwarden.

KOREA

Gateway to a rich past