MMCA Collection 300

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA, Director Youn Bummo) Published an English translation MMCA Collection 300 on January 2021, providing an opportunity for foreign readers to explore Korean modern and contemporary art.

As part of the 50th anniversary project of its opening in 2019, the MMCA has published a selection of 300 representative works by 300 artists from the museum’s collection. Soon after its publication, the book became a bestseller in the art category at major online bookstores in South Korea, gaining huge popularity from readers.

The publication of the English version is meaningful as it has recently set the stage for introducing representative works of Korean art to overseas researchers and readers amid high international interest in Korean culture and art. The English version introduces the works of 300 artists representing Korean modern and contemporary art overseas and contributes greatly to the global study of Korean art.

MMCA Collection 300 divides 1910 to 2000 into decades to explore contemporary status and issues of Korean art as well as the description of the formation and movement of Korean modern and contemporary art. In particular, the English version includes the English translation of 25 Korean art terms from the 1910 to the 1950s as an appendix to enhance understanding of the Korean art terms of that era for English readers.

The collections included in the book are currently on display in permanent exhibitions held at MMCA Seoul and Gwacheon venues under the titles MMCA Collection Highlights 2020+ and Artists in Their Times: Korean Modern and Contemporary Art.

The MMCA promotes the Korean Art Research Project to create a balance between Korean art history and the development of art content and the globalization of Korean art. In the future, the MMCA plans to carry out diverse projects to organically connect exhibitions, collections, and education for the wider circulation of the museum’s research accomplishment through the publication.

Youn Bummo, Director of the MMCA, notes that “the English version of MMCA Collection 300 will quench the thirst of foreign readers who want to know more about Korean art. We will accelerate the globalization of Korean modern and contemporary art through English publications of the museum collection.”

MMCA Collection 300 can be purchased and delivered online in overseas, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia through the MMCA online shop at mmcashop.co.kr.