II. The Present Situation_2. General Situation of Private Korean Art

Art Museums
Their History, Present Situation and Vision:

the case of the Republic of Korea : through historical survey, the case studies of private art museums and the "Mo-am Collection"

  

 

2. General Situation of Private Korean Art Museums

 

General Background
After the Japanese Domination Period of 1910 to 1945 and the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, Korea has quickly developed in most areas, including economy, politics, culture, and so forth. Especially, Korea has enormously expanded in its economy due to the efforts of the Korea Development plan of the Korean government during 1970s and 1980s. Korea became one of the most developed countries of the world. In relation to its economic growth, Korea’s art society and art market have grown. According to one statistics performed by The Korean Museum Association, there are 358 museums, including National, Public, University, and Private museums now in Korea５２ (Table 2). National Museums are founded and administered by the central government, and public museums are built and governed by the provincial government. University museums are established and managed by higher educational institutions, universities, and private museums are set up and run by individuals５３.

 

Table. 2 <The Number of Korean Museums> (Dec. 31st, 2005)
Year
2003
2004
2005
Total
289
306
358
National
32
31
31
Public
56
63
108５４
University
85
86
64５５
Private
116
126
155

Korea’s modern museum history is relatively short. It started in 1910, and even the majority numbers of Korean museums were founded after 1980. At this phase, I would like to point out the discrepancy in terms used by Korean museums. In Korea, two different terms have been used for “Museums,” since their modern history was begun by Japan５６. Those are “Museum” and “Art Museum.” It is somewhat ambiguous to me what the main difference is between the terms “Museum” and “Art Museum.” However, generally speaking, “Museum” represents an institution which is bigger in size and scale in Korea, while “Art Museum” means the institution which focuses on the visual arts such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and so forth. The definitions of “Museum” and “Art Museum” in the Museum and Art Museum Development Law (박물관 및 미술관 진흥법) are as follows:

The Museum and Art Museum Development Law
(Enactment on Nov. 30th 1991; Amendment on Aug. 4th 2005)

(Article 2, Section 1)
“ ‘박물관’이라 함은 문화, 예술, 학문의 발전과 일반공중의 문화향수 증진에 이바지하기 위하여 역사, 고고, 인류, 민속, 예술, 동물, 식물, 광물, 과학, 기술, 산업 등에 관한 자료를 모집, 관리, 보존, 조사, 연구, 전시하는 시설을 말한다.” (‘A Museum’ is a facility for the development of art , culture, and study, and improving the cultural nostalgia of the general public that gathers information about history, archaeology, anthropology, ethnic customs, arts, animals, plants, minerals, science, technology, and industry; and, it is a facility that administers, preserves, researches, studies, and exhibits the information above.)

(Article 2, Section 2)
“‘미술관’이라 함은 문화․예술의 발전과 일반 공중의 문화향수 증진에 이바지하기 위하여 박물관 중에서 특히 서화, 조각, 공예, 건축, 사진 등 미술에 관한 자료를 수집, 관리, 보존, 조사, 연구, 전시하는 시설을 말한다.”
(‘An Art Museum’ is a facility for the development of art , culture, and study, and improving the cultural nostalgia of the general public that administers, preserves, researches, studies, and exhibits the works of art, such as calligraphy, sculpture, industrial art, architecture, photography, and so forth.)

Due to the unclearness in their use, some Korean art critics and administrators urge that it is necessary to merge the two different terms to one “Museum” for its certainty and clarity. I agree with this thought. The use of two different terms could cause some types of misunderstanding in communication. As the title of the thesis and a description in the preface suggest this study focuses on the Private Korean (Non-Profit) Art Museums, not the whole part of Korean museums.