East meets West

Seokpajeong and trees at the foot of Mt. Inwang are covered with snow. / Courtesy of Seoul Museum

By Yoon Sung-won

Stepping out of the back door of the Seoul Museum, the beautiful combination of Seokpajeong’s “hanok” or traditional Korean tile-roof buildings and the valley of Mt. Inwang stretches out.

With the snow heaped up on the rooftops and rocks, the landscape appears to be picture-perfect.

Nestled between Mt. Inwang and Mt. Bukak, Seokpajeong was built in the mid-1800s and was occupied by Heungseon Daewongun, the influential father and regent of the Joseon Kingdom’s penultimate king.

Visitors walk a snowy road in front of Seokpajeong’s main gate. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Seokpajeong was designated as Seoul City Tangible Cultural Heritage in 1974 and Seokpa Cultural Foundation, together with the Seoul Museum, has managed and refurbished the building after purchasing it nine years ago.

Seokpajeong strikes a stark contrast with the modernistic structure of the Seoul Museum, whose interior is painted in black and gray.

At the same time, the two allow visitors to feel a comfortable east-meets-west coexistence.

The interior of Seokpajeong’s “sarangchae,” or male quarters. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

This is a quality similar to what is felt in appreciating one of the museum’s main exhibitions, “Life of Jesus,” drawn by the late artist Kim Ki-chang during the Korean War.

Some 30 pieces of artworks depict the life of Jesus Christ in Korea’s traditional costumes and backgrounds in the oriental painting style.

As the collection well-connects Korea’s traditional fine art and western Christian art, it is one of the museum’s most significant collections and maybe best-suited for the museum’s harmony with Seokpajeong.

The exterior of the Seoul Museum building. / Courtesy of Seoul Museum

The interior of the Seoul Museum. Walls, ceilings and pillars adopt rectilinear designs and are painted in neutral colors.

Late artist Kim Ki-chang’s “Ascension,” one of the works of his “Life of Jesus” series. / Courtesy of Seoul Museum