Bringing Thailand and South Korea even closer through art

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From Thai PBS World

“Royal Procession with the People” brings old tradition to life on screen

Thailand and Korea share no borders and are 6 hours away by plane, yet everything Korean has become part of Thai life including music, food and TV series.  The ties are further strengthened as trade and cultural exchanges grow and now the Thai public can also enjoy an art exhibition “imported” from South Korea at a Bangkok museum.

Thailand’s Fine Arts Department and the National Museum of Korea are currently hosting an exhibition entitled: “A New Encounter : Immersive Gallery of Korean Art “ at the National Museum in Bangkok. The exhibition demonstrates how Thailand and Korea relate to each other, especially where the monarchy and religion are concerned.

“We chose art dealing with the King and Buddhism because it can easily relate to Thailand,” said Korean curator Sumi Yang.

The exhibition features two sections. The first focuses on a new encounter between Buddhist art from Korea and Thailand. Walking into the first exhibition room, visitors are “greeted” by Buddha statues in two corners – one from Korea and the other from Thailand.

The Korean curator chose the 9^th century Buddha statue made of granite while his Thai counterpart picked the 7^th century Sirijava style Buddha statue made of sandstone for the exhibition. These two sculptures were created by different people and nations and are not from the same era, yet these two images of Avolokiteshvara Bodhisattva evoke the same sense of soothing human souls and offering hope for salvation.

“Granite can be a difficult material to sculpt due to its coarse particles but it was the most common stone in ancient Korean Buddhist sculpture,” Yang said, adding that the sculpture shows bold abstract expressions whereas sandstone sculptures have softer and more delicate expressions.

The 7th century Sirijava style Buddha statue made of sandstone.

Thai and English details about the two Avolokiteshvara Bodhisattva are provided in text format for those who want to learn more about the two statues. For example, details on the statue’s headdress and ornaments of the “Buddha” are given. The Korean sculpture came from the National Museum of Korea while the Thai one is usually exhibited at the Bangkok museum. The Fine Arts Department handpicked the statue for the exhibition.

After learning and experiencing the first section, visitors can move to a relatively more the colourful and “modern” exhibition – two immersive digital video works entitled “Journey of the Soul” and “Royal Procession with the People”.

The video set reconstructs the set of “The Ten Kings of Hell” Buddhist paintings from the Joseon Dynasty (1329-1910) and selected uigwe (the royal protocols of the Joseon Dynasty), which was inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme in 2007, from the collection of the National Museum of Korea.

A New Encounter : Immersive Gallery of Korean Art “ is on show in room 401 of the Maha Surashinganat Building at the National Museum in Bangkok from now until 21 May 2023.

By Veena Thoopkrajae

Continues with photos

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/bringing-thailand-and-south-korea-even-closer-through-art/