Westerners' accounts of pre-modern Korea open to public for 1st time

• Published date: 05 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

It was centuries ago when Korea, known as Joseon (1392-1910), earned a curious nickname ? The hermit kingdom. The term came from American author William Elliot Griffis' "Korea: The Hermit Nation" (1882) when recounting stories related to the country, which had deliberately shut itself off from the rest of the world.

Still, a select few foreigners were able to set foot inside this reclusive nation: missionaries, diplomats, soldiers, historians and adventurers.

The Korean Cultural Center New York's (KCCNY) upcoming exhibition, "The Wonder Unbound," spotlights the written and illustrated documents on the country from the early 18th to mid-20th century penned by these very Westerners as a lens to examine pre-modern Korea's cultural, economic, sociopolitical and religious practices.

Starting on March 15, the show coincides with Asia Week New York, a citywide celebration of Asian art held among art specialists, museums, cultural institutions and auction houses every spring.

Some 120 publications that will be put on public view for the first time come from an extensive collection amassed by Lee Seung-chul, a "hanji" (traditional Korean paper) artist and art professor at Dongduk Women's University. He also serves as a permanent researcher at the Kansong...