Society for Asian Art membership is required to participate in our travel programs. Registration is open for the following trips. Please email saa@asianart.org for travel program information.
Cultural Landscapes: Exploring Korea in the Autumn Led by Dr. Kumja Paik Kim
September 24 - October 9, 2008
Korea is a country with a powerful identity of its own. It is a country of enormous contrasts. Seoul, once the seat of a royal agricultural nation is now one of the largest cities in the world, and yet there are still villages in Korea where life still feels very rural. Its artistic heritage is vast and deep. A beneficiary over the years of the wealth of different cultures, it has never failed to interpret these gifts in its own way, infusing them with flavors found nowhere else. Join Members of the Society for Asian Art on a trip to Korea which has been designed to unravel this country’s unique culture. Over a period of two weeks discover mountain temples, city palaces, ancient tombs, sweeping landscapes, Korean dance and classical Korean pottery. Above all, Korea is a land of mountains with a skyline bound by low but craggy peaks, which in the autumn months are ablaze with color.
Join members of the Society for Asian Art on this exciting program to Korea that will be accompanied by Kumja Paik Kim. The trip begins with a leisurely stay in Seoul where carved dragonheads and fierce figurines top the ornate tile roofs of Seoul’s six-hundred-year-old Namdaemun Gate. Over a period of a week, walk through Seoul’s past, examining the cultural and historical background of Joseon landmarks as well as some rare and recently excavated royal treasures. Spend an afternoon experiencing one of the most exquisite traditional art expressions of Korean women at the wonderful private collection owned by Huh Dong Hwa, who has assembled a superb collection of Korean embroidery. From Seoul travel to Daegu and enjoy a full day excursion to Haein-sa Temple. Set in the thickly-forested foothills of Mt. Gaya, a national park, Haein-sa is one of the greatest centers of Buddhist scholarship in the Orient. The temple complex consists of fifty major buildings besides thirteen hermitages hidden away in the surrounding hills. Up the steep steps behind the main hall is a long, grilled wooden storehouse which contains the tens of thousands of wood blocks on which are inscribed the Tripitaka Koreana, the Korean canon of Buddhist scripture. Spend almost three days exploring the city of Gyeongju, capital of the Silla dynasty. Relics of that period are richly scattered through the valley. Eclipsed for over a thousand years when succeeding dynasties made their capitals elsewhere, Gyeongju’s ancient heritage has only recently been rediscovered.
The entire valley is dotted with burial tombs, tiered pagodas, fortress ruins, relief sculptures and palace grounds. Head toward Gwangju, stopping at the awe-inspiring temple of Songgwang-sa, a beautiful complex of buildings and courtyards. Songgwang-sa represents many exquisite examples of traditional Korean temple architecture from different periods. Nearby is Gangjin, an important ceramic center known for its inlaid celadon. Spend two nights in Gwangju and visit a number of important temples including Hwaom-sa Temple. Our stay here coimcides with the 7th Gwangju Art Biennial, fast becoming a respected international contemporary art fair. En route back to Seoul stop at Buyeo. Rich in legends and relics the Buyeo National Museum houses objects from the Baekje times as well as prehistoric implements found in the area. Return home from Seoul.
The trip will be accompanied by Kumja Pail Kim, former curator of Korean Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She was the first curator of a department of Korean Art in a US museum when she took this position.
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AUTUMN IN NEW YORK!
New York is always magic in autumn! The Society has planned a five-day visit from October 15th thru October 20th, 2008 to optimize the season and give you some exclusive treats in Asian Art.
Highlights include visits to the homes and collections of three major collectors; special events at Dai Ichi, Koo New York and Joan Mirviss galleries. We will enjoy curator led tours at the best of this fall's Asian art exhibits and parmanent collections at the Met, Asia Society, Japan Society, the Rubin, the China Institute and Tibet House. Culinary art includes a gala dinner at the Colony Club and lunch in the Trustee's Dining Room at the Met. A day-long excursion upstate to visit Storm King's magnificent sculptures amid the autumn foliage and Dia-Beacon's enormous contemporary collections will be a special addition.
Five nights at the Warwick (the hotel built by Randolph Hearst for Marian Davies), breakfast, and gala lunch and dinner are included for a cost of $2200 per person/double occupancy. Single supplement will be $1400. Airfare is not included.
The Group size is limited to 20. Early reservations are strongly recommended.
