Diamond Mountains and the 2018 Winter Olympics
Curator Soyoung Lee with 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics mascots Soohorang (White Tiger) and Bandabi (Black Bear) at The Met's Family Benefit event. Photo by Tiffany Sage
«Two days before the 2018 Winter Olympics opened in Pyeongchang, a landmark exhibition on Korean art opened at The Met. The Winter Olympics draws to a close this weekend after 17 exciting days for sports fans worldwide, but for those who still wish to explore the sights and culture of Korea, the exhibition Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art—which celebrates journeys, landscapes, and memory-making—will continue through May 20.»
The famed Diamond Mountains, also known as Mount Geumgang, are located in Gangwon—the same province as Pyeongchang, the site of this year's Olympics—but just north of the border dividing the Korean peninsula.
Installation view of Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art in the Arts of Korea Gallery at The Met. Photo by Don Pollard
Nearly three years ago I began thinking about an international loan show for 2018, a year that marks the 20th anniversary of The Met's Arts of Korea Gallery and South Korea's hosting of the Winter Olympics. It seemed fitting to highlight one of Korea's most iconic natural wonders, a place that has inspired centuries of artistic homage.
Jeong Seon (1676–1759). Album leaf, ca. 1740s. Ink and light color on silk, 8 6/8 x 21 3/8 in. (22 x 54.3 cm). Lent by Waegwan Abbey, North Gyeongsang province, Korea
The Diamond Mountains cover a vast territory of more than 200 square miles. They are renowned for the varied and rather extraordinary topography that encompasses 12,000 peaks. In the last decade, given the geopolitical climate, this incredible place has been difficult to access for most travelers. For the next three months, however, you can experience the beauty of Geumgang, as captured by artists from the 18th century to the present, here in New York City. I hope you too will find these landscapes wondrous and poignant.
The Exhibition
Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art, on view at The Met Fifth Avenue through May 20, 2018
Soyoung Lee
Curator Soyoung Lee joined the Department of Asian Art in 2003 and is responsible for The Met's Korean art collection, programs, and galleries. She has organized major international loan exhibitions with accompanying catalogues, including Silla: Korea's Golden Kingdom(2013) with Denise Patry Leidy and Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400–1600 (2009), as well as shows focusing on the permanent collection such as Korea: 100 Years of Collecting at the Met (2015). She holds a PhD from Columbia University, with a dissertation on the relationship between Korean and Japanese ceramics from the 15th through the 19th century.