Pompeii's heritages brought to Korea

Visitors take a look at the plaster body casts of volcano victims of Pompeii at National Museum of Korea in Seoul, Monday, during a press preview of “Pompeii: Culture of the Ancient Roman City.” / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

The state-run National Museum of Korea (NMK) begins a four-month-long exhibition from Tuesday, displaying cultural heritages of ancient Roman city Pompeii.

Pompeii was preserved under ash from an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius volcano in 79 A.D., and was rediscovered in the 18th century. The archaeological site of Pompeii was added to UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

A total of 298 heritage items of Pompeii including sculptures, ornaments, mural paintings and plaster body casts of Pompeii victims will be introduced to local visitors. They are on loan from the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Naples and the Archaeological Depositories of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae.

“With a help from overseas museums, we have held different kinds of exhibitions introducing history and culture of different regions around the world. The Pompeii exhibition is also part of that,” NMK director Kim Young-na said at the press conference, Monday.

“Ancient remains recovered by excavation work are usually unrecognizable, but Pompeii is an exception as the site was preserved under ash. With this Pompeii exhibition, audiences will be able to glimpse at the former glory of Rome,” the director added.

Massimo Osanna, Superintendent for the Archeological Heritage of Pompeii added: “This exhibition is important because it is rare to display Pompeii heritages outside Europe. It will be very meaningful for future Korean tourists who will visit Pompeii to see this exhibition because they will experience a lot than this exhibition at the Pompeii ruins.”

Titled, “Pompeii: Culture of the Ancient Roman City,” the exhibition sheds light on various different looks of the ancient city, featuring colorful frescos used to decorate houses, furnishings including beds and tableware, sculptures, ornaments for men and women and bronze helmet, which was probably used by gladiators during the game in amphitheater at the city.

At the end of the exhibition, audiences will be able to come face to face the tragedy of long ago through plaster body casts of volcano victims. Right after the eruption of the volcano, bodies were covered with volcanic ash and decayed, leaving voids. While exploring the Pompeii ruins in 1863, Giuseppe Fiorelli, an Italian archeologist, came up with the idea of injecting plaster into these voids to recreate the forms of the bodies.

The Pompeii exhibition runs through April 5, next year. The museum is located near exit 4 of Ichon Station, subway line 4 and the Jungang Line. Tickets cost 5,000 won for preschoolers, 8,000 won for elementary school students, 11,000 won for middle and high school students and 13,000 won for adults. For more information, visit www.pompeii.co.kr or call (02) 2077 9271.