‘Hopefully, Korea Gallery Introduces Better Part of Korean Culture. It’s Ancient Country, Invaded Many Times’
By Kim Ji-soo
staff reporter
place to call home at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, located in Washington D.C. The Korea Gallery, the first-ever independent exhibition at the Smithsonian, opened to the public on June 8, 2007. Featuring 80 Korean artifacts, which include paintings, traditional wedding costumes, calligraphy and ceramics, this permanent exhibit is the first exhibition hallto introduce Asian culture in the American museum. The silent figure behind this monumental event is Cho Chang-soo, who just turned 81 this year.
Cho, who started working at the Smithsonian in 1965, spent half her life as a Korean curator, selecting, preserving and organizing Korean artifacts and other cultural pieces at the museum with the intention of advancing and sharing people’s knowledge of Korean culture. Cho handled every detail with painstaking care, from creating the Korean and English explanations to designing the exhibit with colors and backgrounds that evoked a Korean atmosphere.
Paul Michael Taylor, the director of the Smithsonian’s Asian Cultural History Program, mentioned Cho by name in his welcome speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Korea Gallery.
However, due to her ailing health, she was unable to attend the opening ceremony. It was Cho’s lifetime dedication that led to the opening of the Korea Gallery, and many people were saddened that she was unable to see the fruition of her efforts in person.
“I heard the opening went well. There were about 30 VIPs, and about 500 to 600 audience came to the opening. I heard” Cho said, over a telephone interview from her home in Virginia. Although she could not attend the opening .she’s in chemotherapy for cancer . she sounded happy and excited that the opening received complimentary reviews. She continued, “It was wonderful that I participated in this project, which involved quite a number of people.
(But) I went through the last script and they relied on me. I feel I contributed greatly.” After graduating from Kyonggi Girls’ High School and completing a two-year college in Japan, Cho went to America in 1948 to earn a bachelors and masters degree in anthropology and sociology.
She soon became a Foreign Language Instructor at a Far Eastern Language School. After that, she began working at the Smithsonian, where she started to research and catalog Korean artifacts in the museum’s Asian division, which covered cultural assets from 14 different Asian countries.
She authored several books on Korean folklore, which attracted a lot of attention. In 1981, she organized an exhibition that focused on Korean art covering the last 500 years. The exhibit was organized in celebration of wonderful that I participated in this project, which involved quite a number of people.
She authored several books on Korean folklore, which attracted a lot of attention. In 1981, she organized an exhibition that focused on Korean art covering the last 500 years. The exhibit was organized in celebration of 100 years of amity between Korea and the United States.
She said that still in the year 2007, many people identify Korea with either the Korean War (1950-1953) or North Korea. She said that the Korean government, for its part, has not done well in its “propaganda” to properly promote Korean culture abroad, like sending lengthy emails that most people would not readily read.
“Hopefully, the Korea Gallery introduces a better part of Korean culture. It’s an ancient country, invaded so many times, but the spirit of the Korean people is amazing,” said Cho, adding that people will get to see that when they visit the gallery.
Cho said that she will be receiving her last chemotherapy next week, and when her health improves afterward, she hopes to visit the Korea Gallery in person.