National Maritime Museum and Hanyang University Museum team up for special exhibition ‘The Movement of Things’

[Financial News] The National Maritime Museum, located in Yeongdo, Busan, said on the 19th that it is jointly holding a special exhibition, ‘The Movement of Things’ (photo), with Hanyang University Museum. The exhibition traces the routes taken by modern industrial ceramics. The National Maritime Museum is headed by Kim Jong-hae, and Hanyang University Museum by Ahn Shin-won.
The exhibition is being held as part of the ‘2026 K-Museum Regional Touring Exhibition and Tour Support Project,’ sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korean Museum Association.
The Busan exhibition is on view in Special Exhibition Hall 2 at the National Maritime Museum through November 7, while the Seoul exhibition runs at Hanyang University Museum through November 30.
Based on fragments of bowls excavated in 2009 from a refuse site in Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, the exhibition traces the routes taken by modern industrial ceramics used from the late 19th century through the 1960s.
Using clues such as the brands, business names, and patterns left on the bowls, the exhibition examines how bowls made in Japan crossed the sea, reached dining tables in Gyeongseong, and were eventually discarded.
In Busan, alongside the exhibition on the routes taken by modern industrial ceramics, a program will offer tours exploring Yeongdo’s history and culture.
The exhibition in Special Exhibition Hall 2 at the National Maritime Museum is significant because it is being held in Yeongdo, where the site of Daehan Pottery—where some of the exhibited pieces were made—is located. Visitors can retrace, in Yeongdo, the history of the bowls’ production and their movement by sea.
As part of the exhibition program, a one-day buddy tour, ‘Following the Path of Things: A Walk through Yeongdo,’ will be held on the 24th and 31st.
Korean university students and international students will take part in pairs, one to one. After viewing the exhibition with commentary from a curator-researcher at Hanyang University Museum, they will visit the site of Daehan Pottery.
On the 24th, the program will include watching Yeongdo Bridge open and visiting Huinnyeoul Culture Village; on the 31st, it will visit Kkangkkang I Art Village. Participation is free. A total of 30 people per session—15 Korean university students and 15 international students—will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
In Seoul, about 60 hand-painted plates by Daehan Pottery will be on display, and a local tour program around Seongdong-gu will also be offered.
About 60 hand-painted plates by Daehan Pottery from the collection of the Noam Cultural Foundation, chaired by Choi Jeong-geun, will be unveiled in the Calligraphy and Painting Gallery on the fourth floor of Hanyang University Museum. The plates were made at Daehan Pottery in Yeongdo and painted by artists including Byeon Gwan-sik, Kim Whanki, and Kim Eun-ho, who fled to Busan during the Korean War. The plates, which were taken overseas as souvenirs at the time and later returned to Korea through collecting by private owners, offer a way to explore the meeting of industrial products and art, and the significance of the movement of things.
In Seoul, a total of six local tour programs around Seongdong-gu will be held in cooperation with Four Seasons Fair Travel.
Academic and cultural programs related to the exhibition will also take place at Hanyang University Museum on the 21st. At 10:30 a.m., a roundtable titled ‘The Haengdang-dong Refuse Site and Modern Industrial Ceramics’ will be chaired by Bae Ki-dong, former director of the National Museum of Korea. Jung Nari, director of the LH Land and Housing Museum; Jang Nam-won, professor at Ewha Womans University; Han Hye-sun, research professor at Ewha Womans University’s Institute for Korean Culture; and Mabi Katayama, professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, will discuss the excavation process and the scholarly significance of the finds. At 1:30 p.m., curator Hwang Na-young will lead an exhibition tour, followed at 2 p.m. by a book talk, ‘Daehan Pottery: The Meeting of Industry and Art.’ The book’s author, Lee Hyun-ju, deputy director of Beomeosa Seongbo Museum, will join Lee Kyung-hee, head of the curatorial research division at the National Maritime Museum, and art critic Park Jin-hee to discuss Yeongdo’s ceramics industry and the history of Daehan Pottery. Registration is available via the QR code on the poster.
National Maritime Museum Director Kim Jong-hae said, “Busan’s Yeongdo is a place from which many things have set out across the sea and returned. Holding this exhibition there means looking back together at the history of ports, industry, and everyday life. I hope this exhibition will provide an opportunity to explore the lives of the people reflected in the bowls used in everyday life and the significance of the movement of things, and to newly discover the historical and cultural value of Busan as a maritime city.”
The Busan exhibition is open Tuesday through Sunday. The Seoul exhibition is open free of charge Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Details on visiting hours for the Busan exhibition, the schedule for related programs, and how to register are available on the National Maritime Museum website and via the QR code on the exhibition poster.

[email protected] Byeon Ok-hwan Reporter