Conversation: The People’s Treasures—Collecting and Sharing Korea’s Cultural Heritage

Event Date: May 21, 2026 (6:00 PM)

Once privately held, the artworks showcased in Korean National Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art now belong to the Korean people thanks to a single groundbreaking gift from the Lee family.

Lee Kun-hee, the late chairman of Samsung Group, along with his father, Lee Byung-chull, the group’s founder, collected exceptional and storied objects from throughout Korean history as a means of preserving and celebrating the nation’s cultural heritage. In 2021 the family donated over 23,000 works to the Korean government for public audiences to study and appreciate in perpetuity. This exhibition marks the first international tour of this collection.

Explore the history of Lee Byung-chull and Lee Kun-hee’s collection, their enduring passion for the arts, and the key works from the exhibition in this conversation with curators Yeonsoo Chee and Jiyoon Jo.

Made possible by the Carol Given Winston Fund for Docent and Patron Education.

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