Song Hye-kyo provides Korean campus map for LACMA

Sungshin Women's University professor Seo Kyung-duk, left, poses with actor Song Hye-kyo. / Courtesy of Seo

In a move to celebrate the 577th anniversary of the proclamation of the Korean alphabet and further promote the Korean language and culture, actor Song Hye-kyo teamed up with professor Seo Kyung-duk to donate a Korean language map to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Oct. 9, on the occasion of Hangeul Day.

On the LACMA's homepage, the museum's campus map is available in English, Spanish and now Korean and under the Korean map, it notes that it was created thanks to the donations of Song and Seo.

"Launching a Korean map on the LACMA's website is meaningful as it marks the first instance of the museum offering its map in a language other than English or Spanish," Seo wrote on his social media account, Monday.

Seo added that visitors could use the Korean map to locate various exhibits within the museum and then refer to the Korean-language guide for a more in-depth tour.

The launch of the Korean map follows an earlier initiative in June when the duo donated a comprehensive Korean-language guide to LACMA, which was made available for free to Korean visitors.

A campus map of Los Angeles County Museum of Art provided in Korean and English/ Courtesy of LACMA

LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, boasting a collection that spans over 6,000 years and includes more than 150,000 artifacts.

The museum is also notable for housing the largest collection of Korean art in the U.S., which resonates with the significant Korean community in the region. The museum's Korean gallery showcases an array of paintings, ceramics, textiles and Buddhist artworks.

The museum held "Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing," an exhibition on calligraphy in Korea, in 2019 and "The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art," showcasing Korea's modern art, in 2022.

Sungshin Women's University professor Seo has a long history of advocating for Korea and its culture, best known for his campaigns regarding Korea's territorial claim to the Dokdo islets and for donating Korean pamplet guides to the world's top art institutions.

Seo also first provided a Korean-language audio guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2006 and later joined hands with actor Seo to donate Korean guide materias and leaflets to high-profile museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.

Looking ahead, Seo explained that they have plans to expand their efforts beyond the U.S. to European museums, aiming to make art and culture more accessible to Korean speakers globally.

"I will continue to do my best with Hye-kyo, until the day when Korean language services are available for all major art galleries and museums around the world, as well as famous tourist destinations," Seo wrote.