It’s a country rich in history and tradition, but South Korea is always pushing the envelope into the future. That’s especially true when it comes to art.
Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is one of the oldest museums of its kind in Asia but is filled with powerful messages that point to the future and grab your attention.
From a room full of automatic rifles, to stories on the big screen, a trip to the museum is a moving experience.
“It expresses the tragic and heroic and dramatic history of this country through the 20th century,” explained museum director Bartomeu Mari.
Some of it is not so pretty and a lot to take in. One exhibit features a white wall — an emotional journey – walking people through the lives of four women who were alienated and sacrificed in the course modern history of Korea. Some of them were “comfort women” – abducted and forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army.
“It’s a very, I would say, dramatic illustrative vision on how history was also told by the voices of those who didn’t win,” Mari said.