◇ The Gyeonggi Provincial Museum hosts a special exhibition entitled The Tea, Healing and Joy. ⓒ Reporter Seong Ye-eun

There is an exhibition where you can see the past and present of Korean tea culture at a glance.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Museum opened its first special exhibition of 2014, the Korean Tea Culture Fair, on April 30.

The exhibition, entitled The Tea, Healing and Joy, displays over 200 relics related to tea culture from all over the country. The displays are divided into three general areas: Tea and Life (Part I), Scent of Tea in Painting (Part II), and Healing Zone (Part III).

◇ Types of tea (left) and teapots (right) ⓒ Reporter Seong Ye-eun

From encountering the pleasure of tea to drinking it, the ‘Tea and Life’ section reveals the composure of our ancestors through the works of modern Korean painters and folding landscape screens.

At Encountering Pleasure, one of the sections of Part I, it is much easier to understand the exhibits if you have some basic information on tea. In Part I, you can also see items from Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, Chusa Kim Jeong-hui, and Cho-eui Eui-sun, who strived to revive a tea culture that had subsided, with exhibits of records such as letters and publications involving tea. You can feel traditional Korean tea culture by examining teas in gatherings and parties or portrayed on folding screens, or by seeing tea bowls.

◇ Scent of Tea on Painting Exhibition Hall (left), and parts of Healing Zone (center, right) ⓒ Reporter Seong Ye-eun

It is not uncommon to find Joseon paintings on the theme of tea. In Part II, Scent of Tea in Painting, you can see tea culture masterpieces of noblemen in Joseon Dynasty paintings. Works such as Kim Hong-do’s Gunhyeondo (The Nineteen Taoist Immortals), Jukritangeum, and Gosainmuldo, Shim Sa-jeong’s Songhaeumda, and Lee In-mun’s  Surohangeo are exhibited, and the displays will be replaced at regular intervals.

In Part III, Healing Zone, located in front of the entrance of the museum, you can also take a rest. By setting up a tea farm with tea trees and offering various types of tea samples, you have a chance to enjoy serenity and a general overview of tea culture.

“Under the title of The Tea, Healing and Joy, the comma (,) conveys repose and composure, and the word ‘joy’ conveys friendly dialog,” said Gyeonggi Provincial Museum curator Lee Seong-jun, who prepared this exhibition. “If visitors crave a cup of tea after appreciating this exhibition, then I’d say this exhibition is a success.”

This special exhibition is expected to remind visitors of the true charm of tea, which has long provided an occasion for communication between people, healing the mind and adding serenity to life.

The exhibition will take place at the Gyeonggi Provincial Museum located in Gi-heung-gu of Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, until August 24. The displays will be replaced at the mid-way point of the exhibition for preservation. The entrance fee is KRW 4,000 for adults, KRW 2,000 for teenagers and soldiers, and free for preschool children. Residents of Gyeonggi Province can receive a 25% discount.

ⓒGyeonggi G-News | Gyeonggi Junior Reporter Seong Ye-eun syyc9372@naver.com 

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