Visitor looking at the displays in Room 67

Room 67

Korea

300 BC – present
The Korea Foundation Gallery

Visiting the gallery

Opening times

Closed from 15–26 July.

Advance booking advised

Gallery audio guides

Listen on the Audio app, available on the App Store and Google Play.

Plan and book your visit
Find Room 67

Korea has a rich material and visual culture and a long and enduring history.

The Korean peninsula is about as large as the UK. Since 1948 it has been divided into the Republic of Korea in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north.

This gallery creates an encounter with the peninsula's art, history and culture, through the important collections of the British Museum and also through loans from partner institutions, including the National Museum of Korea.

Building on the strengths of the collections, objects on display date mainly from about AD 300 to the present and include ceramics, metalwork, sculpture, paintings, prints, textiles, lacquer and coins. A reconstruction of a sarangbang, or scholar's study, built by contemporary Korean master craftsmen in summer 2000, displays traditional Korean architecture.

The gallery was created in 2000 thanks to the generosity of the Korea Foundation and refurbished in 2014 with a grant from the National Museum of Korea.

Take a virtual tour

Journey through the Korea gallery to find the elegant white porcelain 'moon jar', plus fascinating objects dating from as far back as AD 300 to the present day.

Buddha statue in the Korea gallery. ©2020 Google.

Highlights

  • White porcelain 'moon jar', Choson dynasty, Korea, 17-18th Century AD.

    White porcelain 'moon jar'

  • Stoneware spouted funerary vessel in the shape of a duck, with combed and incised decoration of wings and feathers.

    Stoneware funerary vessel

  • Stoneware bowl with underglazed copper red decoration of peony scrolls inside, and panels of floral scrolls on the outside.

    Celadon tea bowl

  • White vase covered in layered dark porcelain flowers.

    Vase by Jeon Seong-keun

  • Painting on hemp of Dhratarastra playing a lute.

    Heavenly King of the North

Accessibility

  • A large print guide is available. 
  • Some objects in this collection feature on the British Sign Language multimedia guide. This resource is temporarily unavailable. You can access a selection of BSL films on your own device.
  • Some objects in this collection feature on the audio description guide, available on Soundcloud.
  • Seating is available.
  • Step-free access.
  • View sensory map.

Visit Accessibility at the Museum for more information.

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