The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation under the Korea Heritage Service announced Wednesday that it will conduct preservation and restoration work in Korea on "Chilbosan-do (Seven Treasures Mountain)," a 19th-century Joseon Dynasty landscape painting held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
"This project, selected through the foundation's open call for overseas cultural heritage preservation and restoration support, is being carried out as part of Samsung Cultural Foundation's social contribution activities," the foundation said. "It aims to highlight the international value of Korean cultural heritage and promote the capabilities and status of Korean conservation expertise on the global stage."
"Chilbosan-do" realistically depicts Mount Chilbo's majestic mountain ranges, bizarre rock formations, deep valleys and waterfalls. Mount Chilbo, located in the northeastern part of Hamgyong Province, is renowned for its imposing and distinctive topography. The Metropolitan Museum acquired the work as a scroll divided into 10 sections, but has decided to proceed with preservation and restoration to return it to its original format as a 10-panel folding screen. The painting has been brought to Korea and transferred to the Leeum Museum of Art.
The foundation's "Preservation, Restoration and Utilization Support Project" aims to maintain the permanence of Korean cultural heritage abroad by cooperating in preservation and restoration efforts, even when legal repatriation is not possible. Since 2013, the foundation has carried out 64 such projects with 34 institutions across 10 countries.
