By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia will hold an exhibition displaying some 350 pieces of Korean relics in June, which will be on loan from the National Museum of Korea.
Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, director of the museum in St. Petersburg, and Choe Kwang-shik, director of the Korean museum, signed an exhibition contract on Jan. 21 as part of the cultural exchange. The Korean museum held an exhibition titled "The Scythian Gold," which presented 230 pieces of Russian nomadic artworks here in 1991.
The exhibition of Korean artworks in one of the world's top museums is aimed at raising awareness of Korean culture among Russians. The Korean artifacts will be on display in Nicholas Hall, the museum's largest room.
The exhibition will include Korean treasures such as a gold crown and belt excavated from Seobong Tomb of the Silla Kingdom and Kim Hong-do's paintings from the Joseon Kingdom.
The Russian museum will run an educational program in which visitors can participate in making Korean crafts. Also, it will invite Russians working with Korean corporations to the exhibition to offer them the opportunity to learn about Korean traditions and culture.
The State Hermitage Museum, which was established in 1764, is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, and has some 3 million items.