Korea Rediscovered! Treasures from German Museums presents for the first time a selection of roughly 100 objects from the most important collections of Korean art and culture in Germany comprising a total of more than 6,000 items. The exhibition provides an insight into the diversity and unique tradition of Korean art. It includes outstanding examples of Celadon ware and Buddhist painting from the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392)
alongside examples of painting from the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) with its Confucian influences and also shows objects of monumental and highly colourful shamanic art as well as works of popular religion. At the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne this selection from the fields of ceramics and Buddhist painting will be complemented by additional works of art.

The unique show highlights the origins and history of German collections of Korean art. These were begun at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries when German diplomats and art collectors as well as missionaries and explorers set off for Korea to research the culture of this country which had for centuries been closed to the outside world. They amassed collections which were either influenced by the early 20th century view of art or by their interests in ethnography or applied art. While the exhibition makes possible an appreciation of Korean art by themes and genres, the essays in the catalogue provide an insight into the history of the collections of the various museums and the history of German-Korean cultural and political relations. Thanks to loans from Museum Ludwig the Museum of East Asian Art has the unique opportunity to create a bridge to the present-day and as a complement show important works by the Korean video artist Nam Jun Paik (1932-2006), who was active in the Rhineland for many years.

After its first stop in Cologne the exhibition will be shown in 2012 and 2013 at the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, the Museum of Applied Art in Frankfurt and the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, in each case with different foci.