Since late last year, the Lee Kun Hee Collection (KH Collection) exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., has attracted over 40,000 visitors. The exhibition, which concludes on February 1, will travel to the Art Institute of Chicago in March and the British Museum in London in September.
Lee Jae Yong, Samsung Electronics Chairman, and other members of the Samsung family are visiting the United States to commemorate the successful launch of the Lee Kun Hee Collection exhibition. They are also hosting a gala event to promote the late Chairman Lee Kun Hee’s vision of cultural patriotism. As the exhibition gains traction, it’s shedding new light on the social impact of the KH Collection, which has redefined the value and significance of philanthropic giving in the arts.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, the Lee Kun Hee Collection exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington will conclude on February 1. Since its opening on November 15 last year, the exhibition has welcomed more than 40,000 visitors.
To mark the exhibition’s success, a gala celebrating the Lee Kun Hee Collection will be held on Wednesday. Attendees will include Lee Jae Yong, Samsung Electronics Chairman; Hong Ra Hee, honorary director of the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum; Lee Boo Jin, president of Hotel Shilla; and Lee Seo Hyun, president of Samsung C&T. Executives from Samsung Electronics and its major affiliates are also reported to be in attendance. Notable figures from U.S. political and business circles, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, are expected to participate. Chairman Lee is set to deliver a welcome speech, emphasizing the late chairman’s commitment to cultural patriotism.
The KH Collection, featuring seven national treasures including Goryeo celadon and Joseon white porcelain, has garnered significant attention at the Washington, D.C. exhibition since late last year. Audrey Nuna, a Korean-American singer-songwriter whose real name is Audrey Chu, visited the exhibition and said that it felt as though her heart and mind were overflowing, adding that learning about the history, culture, and evolution of Korean art was truly moving.
Prior to the gala, a symposium hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art discussed the significance and impact of the KH Collection. In 2021, Lee Jae Yong and his family donated over 23,000 cultural artifacts and artworks amassed by the late chairman throughout his lifetime to national institutions. Despite speculation that they would need to sell a substantial portion to cover enormous inheritance taxes, they chose to donate in accordance with the late chairman’s wishes.
The collection includes 14 national treasures and 46 treasures, making it nearly impossible to assess their true value. These priceless artifacts have been generously distributed to museums across the country, including the National Museum of Korea (over 21,600 items) and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (over 1,600 items). Since last year, the Lee Kun-hee Collection has drawn large crowds in Korea and continues to generate significant interest as works are exhibited in major museums worldwide.
The cultural community has lauded the unprecedented scale and diversity of the KH Collection, noting that its donation has significantly elevated the standard of Korean culture and arts. They particularly commend the Samsung family’s collecting philosophy, which has preserved national treasures at risk of being lost overseas and donated undervalued folk art to the state, making a crucial contribution to preserving Korea’s unique cultural identity.
During the symposium’s keynote speech, former National Museum of Korea Director Kim Young Na emphasized the exceptional nature of the Lee Kun Hee Collection donation, given the low percentage of donated items among the museum’s vast holdings. She explained that 2021, the year the KH Collection was donated, marked a watershed moment in the history of Korean art collecting.
Lee Sa Bin, a curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, said that the Lee Kun Hee Collection consists of works the museum could never have acquired solely through its purchasing budget. She added that the majority of the donated works are by Korean artists and include rare, hard-to-find pieces from the early 20th century, thereby making a significant contribution to the study of modern and contemporary Korean art.
She also noted that the donation of the Lee Kun Hee Collection has transformed societal perceptions of philanthropy and social contribution. The museum’s collections department has seen a surge in inquiries from artists, families, and collectors who intend to donate artworks. She said there has been a positive shift in public perception regarding donations, describing this as one of the most important outcomes of the Lee Kun-hee Collection donation.
Lee Soo Kyung, director of the National Chuncheon Museum, explained that the Lee Kun-hee Collection includes numerous folk paintings, such as those depicting magpies and tigers. Last year, a character reinterpreting the magpie-and-tiger motif appeared in Netflix’s “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” leaving a lasting impression. Consequently, related cultural merchandise created by the National Museum of Korea sold over 90,000 units. She noted that this exemplifies how a collector’s vision can revitalize cultural heritage that others overlooked. Under the name of the donor, Lee Kun Hee, these artifacts have been elevated to valuable exhibition pieces, garnering newfound appreciation.