The Nationwide Museum of Korea is a brief stroll from my dwelling, set amongst bamboo groves and pagodas.
Inside, the Room of Quiet Contemplation homes two of the nation’s most treasured artworks. This gilt-bronze bodhisattva statue from the early seventh century sits together with one different bodhisattva courting to the sixth century. Each are positioned on a spherical platform within the dimly lit room. Ambient sounds suggesting deep outer — or interior — area play in a loop.
The statues’ sleek outlines and cascading folds of garments all radiate elegant simplicity. Their eyes are half shut, mouths in a faint smile, with two fingers resting on their proper cheeks. Their proper legs are folded, whereas their left legs descend towards the ground. Their eyes evoke deep contemplation of the transience of life. The grins, in response to specialists on Buddhism and Buddhist artwork, counsel a realization of reality, and the legs characterize a transition into motion, to liberate all sentient beings.
Guests can scan a code to listen to Blackpink singer Jisoo provide her understanding too: “This Buddhist statue captures the aspirations of people who sought salvation through quiet reflection and enlightenment during a turbulent era filled with change and anxiety. That is why, even to this day, it holds the power to naturally soothe and calm the minds of those who look upon it.”
By harnessing the attraction of South Korean popular culture and progressive digital and bodily shows, the museum, in response to one rating, turned the world’s third-most visited final yr, behind solely the Louvre in Paris and the Vatican Museums.
