Korea’s First Ancient Art Festival Will Be Held in June

This June, an ancient art festival will be held for the first time in Korea to raise interest in Korean cultural heritage.

The Korea Association of Antiquities (KAA) will hold the first Janganpyeong & Dapsimni Ancient Art Festival at Dongdaemun-gu Office in Seoul from June 3 to 5, 2024. The festival is designed to promote cultural heritage, which is the foundation and inspiration of K-culture, such as K-Pop and K-Content, as interest in K-culture grows. This event will be held in line with the transformation of the national heritage system, such as changing to the term “cultural heritage” instead of “cultural properties.”

The cultural heritage displayed in this festival does not only refer to colorful and noble old paintings, white porcelains, and celadon. It encompasses all items containing traces of years and life, such as simple furnaces, small dining tables, and rice cake stamps used in everyday life in the past. This ancient art festival is prepared to share these cultural heritages with citizens.

Ancient art companies participating in Korea’s first ancient art festival are located in the ancient art shopping centers located in Dapsimnri and Janganpyeong. This ancient art shopping center began in the early 1980s and is the largest in Korea, with trading of ancient artworks. Currently, there are more than 100 stores in this shopping mall, and about 70,000 cultural heritages can be found, including ceramics, ancient books, paintings, wooden elements, folklore, stone objects, and other crafts. Antiques, old props, and unexpected luxury goods can be found.

However, there are cases in which conflicts or disputes arise over the authenticity of ancient art. Therefore, on June 5, the Free Appraisal Event will be held to find out the value of relics. Appraisal committee members who appeared in the famous television program Genuine Luxury Goods will evaluate items.

“As it is the first exhibition to be held at a time when the name is changed from cultural properties, which had a strong character of goods, to cultural heritage linking the past and the future, we will try to discover preliminary cultural heritage that can be delivered more valuable to the next generation,” said Kim Kyung-soo, president of the KAA. “We hope to discover new attractions of Dapsip-ri and Janganpyeong Ancient Art Shopping Center with rich future values.”

Established in 1971, the Korea Ancient Art Association is an organization with 450 full members working in 13 branches nationwide to preserve, inherit, and utilize cultural heritage.

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