[Gallery Walk] Kansong Preserved More Than Art... The Other Side of the Collection Left on Paulownia Boxes

120th Anniversary of Jeon Hyungpil's Birth: Special Exhibition "Sangseo: Reading the Collection"

From the First-Birthday Folding Screen to the Paulownia Boxes

Thirty Sangseo Records (61 Pieces), Twenty-One Artifacts (45 Pieces), and Fifty-One Featured Works (106 Pieces) on Display

The Final Chapter in a Three-Year Inquiry: "How Was the Kansong Collection Created?"

In 1907, Jeon Hyungpil had not collected anything yet. He was just one year old.

A first birthday photo of Jeon Hyeongpil, taken in 1907. The folding screen behind Jeon Hyeongpil is “Portrait Map of Historical Figures” by Jo Seokjin, which is featured in this exhibition. The photo confirms that this artwork had been by his side long before he became a collector. Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

Jo Seokjin's 'Portrait Map of Historical Figures' captures characters and anecdotes from Chinese classical stories across twelve folding screens. This work appeared as the folding screen behind the first birthday photo of Jeon Hyeongpil in 1907 and was an early collection piece of the Kansong family, having been at their Jongno main residence since at least before that time. Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

Dressed in a traditional rainbow-colored jacket, he sat on a large chair for his first birthday photo. Looking at that photo again 119 years later, one fascinating detail emerges: the folding screen placed behind him. It is Joseokjin’s “Portrait Map of Figures,” which illustrates characters and stories from ancient China. That very artwork now resides on the first floor of the Kansong Art Museum in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul.

This piece had been in Jeon’s family’s main house in Jongno since at least before 1907. In a sense, one could playfully say that the Kansong Collection existed before the collector Jeon Hyungpil himself. Today, the painting is reconfigured as a twelve-panel hanging scroll, and eight panels from it are on view in this exhibition.

The Kansong Art Museum’s Autumn Special Exhibition, “Sangseo: Reading the Collection,” which opens on the 7th, delves one step further. Rather than only asking what was collected, it asks how items were identified, documented, and preserved. That’s why, alongside paintings and calligraphy by Kim Hongdo, Kim Jeonghee, and Jang Seung-eop, an old paulownia wood box beside each artwork keeps catching viewers’ eyes.

A late Joseon Dynasty painter Kim Sucheol’s ‘Buksan Painting Album’ and the paulownia wood box that has preserved it. The inscription placed beside the artwork contains the artist’s name, the title of the work, and its provenance. This exhibition goes beyond simply viewing masterpieces to explore how they have been remembered and passed down. Kansong Art and Cultural Foundation

Jeon Hyungpil’s acquisitions did not end with just purchasing artifacts. He would consult connoisseurs, including his mentor O Sechang, to authenticate and evaluate their value, then record the artwork’s name, materials, and its provenance. He even commissioned custom paulownia boxes from skilled craftsmen to fit each work, spending between 20 won and over 200 won per box—equivalent to dozens of sacks of rice at the time. Today, about 700 such boxes remain at Kansong Art Museum, with “sangseo”—records of art’s journey—found in 258 of them.

This relentless attention ultimately led to building an entire house. In 1934, he established Bukdanjang in Seongbuk-dong to relocate the collection from the Jongno home, and in 1938, constructed Bohwagak to research and preserve these treasures—a site less an ornate museum than a place designed to ensure his collection would survive for generations.

Bohwagak, now 88 years old, was reopened in 2024 after restoration and refurbishment. Since its reopening, the museum has consistently raised the question, “How was the Kansong Collection created?” The exhibitions, from “Bohwagak 1938” through “O Sechang,” “Sunwoopungwol,” “Bohwabijang,” and “Culture for the Nation,” have explored the paths by which buildings, people, collectors, appraisers, and works themselves all became part of Kansong. To mark the 120th anniversary of Jeon Hyungpil’s birth this year, the museum presents “Sangseo” as the final chapter of a three-year project—a look into the process of acquiring, recognizing, recording, storing, and passing down. This is the final step in completing a collection.

The semi-cursive couplet 'Jikseongsugu' written by the calligrapher Kim Jeonghui around 1820, when he was in his mid-30s, was addressed to the Qing Dynasty literati Gao Sun. It passed through the hands of the Beijing market and Park Seok-yoon before reaching Jeon Hyeongpil, and O Se-chang noted its journey on the box, calling it "a truly remarkable connection." Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

The boxes have stories to tell. For example, “Jikseongsugu,” written by Kim Jeonghee in his mid-thirties around 1820 for the Qing dynasty literati Gao Shun, ended up with a collector in Beijing, before being noticed by Park Seokyun (brother-in-law of Choi Namseon) and returned to Korea, eventually coming into Jeon’s possession. In the winter of 1939, O Sechang recorded this journey on the box, calling it “a truly extraordinary connection.” Inscriptions on wooden panels capture a century-long journey that couldn’t possibly be known from viewing the piece alone.

Danwon Kim Hongdo's 'Nangwontudo.' It humorously depicts Dongbangsak stealing the peaches of the Queen Mother of the West. On a rainy day in 1934, Oh Sechang wrote inside the box, "A masterpiece of Danwon's figures," after seeing this painting. It is a work where the painting itself and the admiration of an expert from over 90 years ago are conveyed side by side. Kansong Art and Culture Foundation

In front of Kim Hongdo’s “Nangwontudo,” the account becomes even more vivid. On a rainy day in 1934, O Sechang wrote inside the box, “A masterpiece among Danwon’s figures,” after seeing the painting. Visitors now read this record of admiration inscribed some 90 years ago, predating even the museum’s own descriptions.

Following the calligraphy of Chusa Kim Jeonghee, “sangseo” records become even more personal: his “Jikseongsugu” from his 30s, “Shinchwimitaisajam Yusi Cheop” from his 50s, the treasure work “Chaho Hogong” from his 60s, and “Hogo Yeongyeong” from his 70s. These records do not just reveal the aging of his brushwork. In his lengthy evaluation of “Chaho Hogong,” O Sechang slyly commented at the end, “Even if the appraisal is somewhat complicated, I hope Kansong will laugh it off.” At some point, a formal record of appraisal shifts into an intimate conversation between master and disciple.

The treasure "Chahohogong" written by the calligrapher Kim Jeonghee in his late 60s is a paired couplet showcasing the realm of rough and powerful Chokye style. After writing an extensive appraisal on the inscription, O Sechang added, "Even if the appraisal is somewhat complicated, I hope Kansong will overlook it with a smile." This passage reveals the private voices of the master and his disciple in the appraisal record. Kansong Art and Cultural Foundation

Because of this, this exhibition invites visitors to move repeatedly between artwork and box—to view the piece, read the box, and then return to the artwork. Gradually, what first seemed like a worn wooden container starts to transform. The identities of those who recognized a piece, the names by which it was known, and the hands and markets it passed through become attached to the object.

The collection wasn’t simply about amassing good items. At least for Jeon Hyungpil, it didn’t end with acquisition. He constantly questioned, confirmed, and inscribed names even after purchase. He sought to preserve not only the box around the artwork but also the time the art had journeyed through.

A newly placed pair of Joseon stone tiger guardians in front of Bohwagak at the Kansong Art Museum. In 1935, Jeon Hyungpil won the bid for 1,200 won at the auction held by the Keijo Art Club where a Japanese collector put them up for sale. The tiger that traveled across the sea and returned became the new gatekeeper of Bohwagak after more than 90 years. Kansong Cultural Foundation

There was even a small changeover outside Bohwagak. After nearly 90 years, the pair of round-faced Joseon Dynasty stone tigers have replaced the Chinese stone lions at the building’s entrance as new guardians. These artifacts were purchased by Jeon Hyungpil for 1,200 won from a Japanese collector at the Kyungsung Art Club auction in 1935. The tiger, once sent across the sea and now returned, stands in front of the building Jeon established.

Beginning with the folding screen behind one-year-old Jeon, encompassing the paintings and calligraphy he amassed, the boxes that enclosed them, and finally the gate of Bohwagak—this history shows not only what Kansong strove to protect for so long. This time, we witness how he protected it. It’s not just the art that remains. Also preserved is what he treasured and how he believed it should be passed on to the next generation. The exhibition runs through December 6.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.