PEMcast Episode 39: Behind the scenes of PEM’s new Yu Kil-Chun Gallery of Korean Art and Culture

Transcript

Dinah Cardin: In 1883, a young scholar crossed the Pacific. He was an appointed delegate of the very first Korean diplomatic mission to the US this arduous voyage brought the scholar and his companion to San Francisco, Chicago, the nation's capital, New York, and Boston.

When his official duties ended, Yu Kil Chun remained in the US to study, living in Salem and nearby Baikon Field for almost two years.

Sue Kim: He was not only a part of the first diplomatic delegation, he actually lived here. He was the first international scholar, international student. That's a powerful story for a lot of people who started living in the United States because they came here as maybe students or immigrants. That story resonates deeply. You know, how lonely it must have been for him to come to this country and live here by himself, learning the language and the culture. I actually met a student at one of the private schools in this area, and when she learned about his story, she cried. I mean, she said also, he was the person. He was the first one. He was like me, trying to find out who I am and my identity in this world of being Korean and American, of being international.

MUSIC

Dinah: Welcome to the conversations and stories for the culturally curious from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. I'm your host, Dinah Cardin. You just heard from Sue Kim, chief philanthropy Officer here at PEM. Sue will be back later to help us connect some dots. But first…

Dinah: I don't think I've ever been in a gallery when it's this empty.

Jiyeon Kim: Yeah. So it's so exciting.

Dinah: There's no casing or anything.

Jiyeon: No casing. Just the wall.

Dinah: This is Jiyeon Kim, PEM's Curator of Korean Art.

Jiyeon: We are looking at four different wall colors, four main theme colors of the gallery. So we see soft green, yellow, pink. Maybe you can call it salmon pink and soft blue. We are now debating between these two shades. A little bit darker, navy, and a little bit lighter. You can call it maybe blue, green.

Dinah: It's really fun to sit here and see all the colors painted on the wall.

Jiyeon: On the same wall? Right on the same wall.

Dinah: It's like you do at home, but they're like light, almost pastel.

Jiyeon: Yeah. Light and vibrant. That's the look and feel that we want in this gallery.

Dinah: This gallery space is inspired by traditional Korean wrapping cloth.

Jiyeon: Right. And it's actually inspired by jogakbo. That's a traditional Korean patchwork wrapping clothes. Those are wrapping clothes. And the fabric that you use for wrapping gifts, use it to pack your lunches. There are a lot of different uses for that.

Dinah: Wrapping cloth. Like a metaphor for the wrapped wishes of the Korean people. In 2010, young Koreans popularized a saying that means “only walk along the flower path.” This expression captured their yearning for a bright future and their wish for one another to live a comfortable and fulfilling life.

This desire transcends time and culture.

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Dinah: Throughout this episode, we'll be going back and forth through time, looking at key moments in the history of Korea as well as contemporary urban life. Let's first look at some slick technology that helped create this exhibition.

Dinah: Can you describe the object?

Matt Delgrosso: It is a Korean ceramic vessel. It's a vase. It's a relatively simple shape, but it is very light.

Because of its lightness, we would probably make a mount for it of some kind. And so, you know, now that we have this model, we can work on it.

Dinah: And a few months ago, several of the objects for the new Korean gallery were being 3D scanned and printed by exhibition preparator Matthew Delgrasso.

Dinah: And then you're going to print it to look exactly like the one that's over there on the shelf?

Matt: Yes. It won't have, like, the color that you're seeing here, so it will be like a nondescript black plastic. But as far as the form goes, the shape, it will be kind of similar. You will get all of the intricacies of the physical form. It's a really interesting technology, and I think the potential is enormous.

Dinah: Matt was also scanning what was essentially a 19th century piggy bank shaped like a turtle.

Matt: We can 3D scan objects, and then we can send that file to a mount maker in a different state.

They can 3D print the object and then fabricate the mount remotely. We can scan and 3D print objects for packing purposes. The plastic object can be in the mount shop next to the fire, next to, like, the tools, and we can even scan objects that are on view and keep them on view while we make mounts.

Dinah: So you know exactly what kind of crate you're looking for and what you need to pack it to make it snug, to make it safe. And you're not practicing on an object. You're practicing on something that can be kind of knocked about.

Matt: Exactly.

Dinah: In the case of the turtle, it holds coins and is used to divine your fortune. Matt said that a particular mount could show off the tiny slot for the coin. The 3D scanner helps figure out the precise angle.

Matt: If the curator really wanted to show off the fact that it's a case and show the fact that, like, in conjunction with the coins, that the coins go inside the object. You might want to see the slot. If you want to see the slot, having it sit on a deck like this is obstructive, but having it raised on a stem

mount provides the visitor the ability to see. I'm giving Jiyeon ideas now. It provides the visitor the opportunity to sort of understand the function better. So you make the mount, you do a couple of tests, you go back to the mount shop, you bend it a few more times, you go back to the object…So this allows you to work continuously with a one to one copy of the object that you don't have to worry about damaging.

Dinah: The future of museum, crate and mount making.

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Dinah: In the 19th century, the young Korean diplomat gave his expertise to our museum, but also his belongings, forever linking his story to ours. This spring, a century later, PEM opened an ongoing exhibition named for Yu Kil-Chun, dedicated to the museum's historic collection of Korean art. And it means the world to people in Korea, says Sue, our chief philanthropy officer. And to the Korean community around the world.

Sue: I think another factor that has really excited people, it's not a temporary exhibition that's passing through for only a few months.

Dinah: The new gallery is ongoing. It’s going to be part of our institution, like the gallery dedicated to maritime art and history.

Sue: We have nearly 2000 works of Korean art in our permanent collection. And when we share that with people, they're wowed, they’re like really? It shows a deep level of, I think, commitment and love of Korean art and the people and the history. And it shows and it matters. They have been working tirelessly for months to support this. This is pretty significant. You even have Korean language students, college students, and again, I just received news yesterday that a group of senior citizens put together an incredible donation for us.

Dinah: Wow.

Sue: I mean, you've got Buddhist temples, churches, speaking about it from the pulpit. That's how much this gallery means to this community. There's an incredible grassroots movement that is happening here in this New England area where 12 of the main or the major Korean American organizations…so this includes, for example, the Korean American Citizens League, the Senior Association. There's a whole group of them. For the first time perhaps in even THEIR own history, these 12 organizations are working so beautifully and collaboratively together, collaborating for one common purpose, which is to help fund this Korean gallery.

Dinah: The feeling of pride is palpable.

Sue: There's definitely deep pride, and rightfully so, I think for the Korean people in terms of their history, long history actually, as well as their creative genius, that has often been kind of gone unnoticed in certain respects. Sometimes people think about, oh, there's so much incredible talent and creativity in contemporary K pop and K drama and K culture, but it all comes and stems from somewhere. It didn't just pop up just a couple of decades ago. There's been a deep, rich history and culture of this kind of talent and creativity, I think in the country and the people of Korea just within the last few decades in terms of technology and how much Korea has developed into this kind of superpower is quite impressive and definitely in the Korean contemporary art realm as well.

Dinah: While this exhibition features stunning contemporary works from PEM's Korean collection, the majority of this collection is historic, dating to the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is when the Joseon Dynasty, Korea's last dynasty, was coming to an end.

Sue: It was actually around a period of tremendous painful challenges that I think the nation of Korea or Joseon at the time was going through. The countries being occupied by Japan and if you look at the Korean peninsula, the positioning, everybody wanted to essentially own Korea. I mean, there are many nations who are actually hovering over Korea at that time, but Japan being the closest and an imperial power. Yes, it was a painful history.

Dinah: During this time, Korea was opening up to the wider world. Which leads us back to Yu Kil-Chun, the young diplomat. Because of this unprecedented visit from a Korean person, our museum became the first in the US to collect art and culture from Korea.

Jiyeon: When Yu Kil-Chun came to the US, he wanted to study the US system and culture. And the first thing, one of the first things he did, he changed into Western style dress.

Dinah: This is Jiyeon again, PEM's curator of Korean art. We're looking at a portrait of Yu Kil-Chun.

Jiyeon: Wearing this very cute suit, Western style suit

Dinah: With a vest and a bow tie.

Jiyeon: I think this act of changing into Western clothes is very symbolic. That's to our benefit. He donated all his clothing to us.

Dinah: That's right. He donated to us the clothes on his back.

Jiyeon: Then he got his hair curled.

Dinah: Hard part on the side.

Jiyeon: Right, right, right. Traditionally, Koreans have top knots and then old men have long hair. And it's a very Confucian idea. So there's this idea that your hair is something that your parents gave you, so you cannot really cut it.

Dinah: Cut his beautiful hair. Did he just want to fit in?

Jiyeon: He's a reformist. He just wanted to reform and modernize his country. So I think this act of changing into Western clothes is very symbolic.

Dinah: What was that? That he wanted?

Jiyeon: A modern country like Japan. So there were lots of mixed opinions about his political direction because he had Japan as his model. Japan reformed their system following the Western model. So I think that's what he had in his mind. Joseon was a very closed society. It had a brilliant culture, it had a very rich culture, but it was basically a Confucian society. From the 18th century, 19th century it closed its door. So they were not really aware of what's going on outside this closed region of China, Korea and Japan. And of course, there were like foreigners, like Westerners who came to live in the capital. You see this, for example, like, trains became available, there was like electricity, and there's all these modern things. But you cannot really say that this is a process of modernization.

Dinah: By the late 1800s, Korea stood on the brink of abrupt social and political changes. Outside interests vied to reshape the nation's landscape. Old values and traditions persisted alongside emerging needs and desires. Within Joseon society, artists were often undervalued and their names seldom recorded in history. Yet their understanding of materials, mastery of craft, creativity and

resourcefulness enriched daily life. The works they created continue to inspire us today.

Jiyeon: Most of the Korean art in the Korean gallery dates back to the late 19th century or the 20th century. This is a period of great cultural transition and transformation. Many objects are small in size, and they are made with everyday material. These seemingly ordinary objects all contain deeply, deeply compelling stories.

Dinah: How many objects are in the show?

Jiyeon: About, like 100 objects. Including very small objects, like ornaments as small as this.

Dinah: The tip of your finger.

Jiyeon: Yeah. And also lots of utensils like spoons and chopsticks, because I like those. We also have contemporary spoons and chopsticks.

Dinah: Who doesn't like spoons and chopsticks?

Jiyeon: Yeah.

Dinah: I asked Jiyeon what it was like getting to work with this historic collection.

Jiyeon: I worked here before, like in 2016 and 2017, and I had a good understanding of the collection here. So my first reaction is I have to get this job. I really love this collection.

Dinah: How were these objects chosen from everything in our collection? How did you make the choice? And was it hard to whittle it down?

Jiyeon: Yeah, of course it was hard, as we have about 2,000 Korean objects in our collection. What I wanted to find, what I wanted to focus, I mean, in this exhibition, is uncovering all these stories, all these very, very exciting stories, compelling stories behind these objects. I spent a lot of time weaving together those stories, like piecing together those stories.

Dinah: And what stories do you want to tell?

Jiyeon: What I found most exciting is these people are all interconnected. They all knew each other, and that they exchanged things.

Dinah: You'll see the objects and documents related to the first Korea and US Diplomatic and Cultural Exchanges, a newly commissioned work inspired by Yu Kil-Chun's journey to the U.S., ceramics, textiles, handmade paper lanterns and furniture reflecting 19th century Korean life. A rare 18th century court bridal robe and an exemplary early 19th century painted screen recently meticulously conserved for this exhibition. And important musical instruments that came to the US during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Jiyeon: This is a really, really vivid example of how Joseon really tried to open up and also tried to promote themselves.

Dinah: They were saying this is who we are. They were kind of exporting their culture. And now Korea has REALLY been exporting its culture.

Jiyeon: Yeah, yeah. Wow! Yeah, you got the really cool point. They basically wanted to show in 1893, wanted to show how great their music is. But right now it's not like that. It's not like the government is forcing these musicians to go out there and promote your country. They are doing their own thing.

A big part of this business, you know, commercial like music industry. But at the same time, they resonated with lots of young people throughout the world.

Dinah: When our marketing department found out we were having a K pop dance party, they freaked out and they were excited about telling other people.

Jiyeon: Yeah, yeah.

Dinah: It's so interesting that that was 19th century and now we're saying that we're having this party in 2025. How does that make you feel about the cultural export from the country?

Jiyeon: It's amazing actually.

Dinah: I asked Jiyeon what she hopes people take away from visiting this gallery.

Jiyeon: So I consider it like a journey, like a historic and artistic journey. Following this journey, I want them to discover how Koreans lived back then and what they dreamed of, what they feared, what they aspired, and how they adapted to these changes and challenges. In a lot of ways, their experiences are not that different from our own.

Dinah: Still, IMAGINE what New England must have been like for Yu Kil-Chun!

Jiyeon: He was a child prodigy, but he failed several times in government examinations. Probably that's why he became like a reformist, because he knew he was a smart person, but he couldn't really pass this government regulated examination. Probably he felt, oh, something's wrong with the system.

Dinah: Instead of wrong with myself.

Jiyeon: Yeah, right, right. Because he was a smart guy, you know, and here, when he went to school here,

by the time he arrived, his English was not very good, of course you can imagine. But he excelled in like every test.

Dinah: It's like he came here, he shed his former self, he left his clothes here and then he left here wearing a very Salemy American Western style suit.

Jiyeon: Yeah, exactly. We also have other hats, but his hat is very, very finely made.

Dinah: Yu Kil-Chun’s hat. We have scholars and visitors from Korea who come to see it. A black, gauzy hat, traditional to Korea. Something that would not keep the rain off.

Jiyeon: And then this one is actually a combination of horsehair and bamboo. You see on top, you see this bamboo frame. And also the brim is made of bamboo frame. And very, very fine, like bamboo strips.

Dinah: This hat was made sometime before 1883.

Jiyeon: This is the year when Yu Kil-Chun donated this hat to the museum.

Dinah: What would you like to ask him if he was still around today in Salem?

Jiyeon: Oh, it's a surprise question. If he is still here? Okay. I want to ask him how he envisioned what country Korea will be in, like, 50 years, 100 years, and 150 years. So I don't think he can even imagine Korea as it is right now.

Dinah: He can't even imagine, like 2025 K-pop.

Jiyeon: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. But he was thinking a lot about what Korea should be in, like, for example, in 20 years, 30 years.

Dinah: Someone who helped Yu Kil-Chun think about the future of Korea was Edward Sylvester Morse, director of one of PEM's precursor institutions in Salem, the Peabody Academy of Science. Morse was deeply interested in Korea and collected 225 objects, donating them to the museum.

Jiyeon: He started the process in 1883, when Yu Kil-Chun actually came to the United States. So most of them are like everyday objects, very ordinary everyday objects. But some of them are very unique art pieces and even, like, ball of thread and tools and very, very basic things.

Dinah: Morse also became a mentor to the young Korean scholar.

Sue: Talking about a friendship. An unexpected friendship. Right.

Dinah: Sue Kim again.

Sue: And then they wrote letters to each other after he had to go back to Korea because the country was war torn. It was a very challenging time. But those letters are very beautiful.

Dinah: In a letter to Edward Sylvester Morse dated December 2, 1885, Yu writes: “I cannot write many letters on this board, for this ship is shaking too much.” This letter was written near the end of Yu Kil-Chun's journey back to Korea during a moment of personal and political turmoil. The reformist party Yu belonged to had lost favor, and he was returning to a government that had turned against him.

His unsteady writing hints at the physical conditions on board the ship and perhaps his unsettled state of mind.

Sue: I think this gallery, again, represents far more than a museum or art. It tells a story that, you know, friendship really transcends. I think national lines, or maybe even artificial or borders, if you will, in the sense that art is powerful, history is powerful, the human story and our connections are powerful. And sometimes maybe we can articulate things with our words. But when we see beautiful art or the stories behind the artists or the people that it represents, there's a deep human connection that we can make.

We don't have to be of that descendant of that nation, but it's about the human story. We have a lot more in common than that we have that's different.

Dinah: Behind us here is a portrait of Edward Sylvester Morse by Frank Weston Benson, who lived here in Salem. What would you say or ask him?

Jiyeon: He wanted to understand and have knowledge about Korean people through these objects.

Right. He wanted to possess this knowledge, acquire this knowledge about Korean people. Right now, it's not about having knowledge about some people or some culture. It's more about having this, I mean, the connection, understanding each other. Not about understanding certain cultures, certain people, but understanding individuals. I think that's the biggest departure from his approach.

Dinah: Right. You want to drill down into specific narratives, specific stories.

Jiyeon: Right. But we found that it's not a history lesson. Of course, not everyone who's coming to this gallery has to know about Korea, but without even knowing, like, a Korean history, without even knowing where exactly Korea is located, like a spotlight, they can, like, focus on individual stories, individual objects. They can learn something. So that's our direction.

Lynda Hartigan: It's fascinating to me, you know, here we are an institution that was founded back in 1799, but it's not until much later in the 19th century that two countries, the United States and Korea, were actually having their first experiences of each other.

Dinah: This is Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, the Rose Marie and Eijk Van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO here at PEM.

Lynda: So here we are a century later, opening the gallery, and it is to celebrate that kind of relationship.

Because of the historical importance of Yu Kil-Chun. The Korea Foundation, the National Museum of Korea, and other agencies in Korea have been incredibly supportive of our preparations for the gallery.

And so it does speak to the soft power of diplomacy between countries. So much of what the predecessor organizations of PEM have been about, and now what we are about and can be about going forward is basically how we encourage lifelong learning, you know, on behalf of ourselves individually

and on behalf of, you know, this notion that I think is incredibly important, like, what is it about our humanity that we share? You know, it never hurts to remind people that, you know, at the core of what we have said in the strategic plan, is that we celebrate creativity as a nourishing force in people's lives.

That creativity can take many different directions and lead to a whole host of questions and different ways of understanding. So, you know, part of talking about the strategic plan and how the founders of this organization really wanted people to be more aware of the larger world at a time when America was a very young country and trying to find its way, that part of how you grow and mature and operate well in the world is to have a larger understanding of the world. And I think something like the Korean Gallery is an excellent example of how we can practice that. So Morris was this incredible peripatetic mind who was very, very dedicated to learning more about Asian art and culture. There was a mutual effort, as I understand it, in terms of Yu Kil-Chun wanting to learn as much as possible about American culture and life, and Morris, in exchange, mentoring him in that way, but also learning from him about Korean art and culture and opening up more diplomatic and cultural avenues for exchange.

Dinah: On a trip of cultural exchange, Lynda recently made the reverse journey of Yu Kil-Chun visiting Seoul for the first time in preparation for the new Gallery of Korean Art and Culture. Along with Sue and Jiyeon, she met the great granddaughter of Yu Kil-Chun.

Lynda: One of the things that came across repeatedly, whether it was meeting with her and her husband or representatives of the Korean press or representatives of the various Korean museums and foundations, that we met with, Yu Kil-Chun is really known and revered in Korea.

Sue: It was deeply moving. I mean, we had moments of tears.

Dinah: Sue Kim again.

Sue: And we heard a perspective from their family about what that relationship meant to them. And of course, actually Koreans know this. I mean, it's historically significant. So in Korea, they know this man's name. They're beyond excited. How meaningful it would have been for her great grandfather to have known that generations later there is going to be a gallery named after him, and that it has connected countless Koreans and Korean Americans and friends together. Because of this, he would probably be more than tickled pink. I mean, it would mean so much to him.

Dinah: On her very first trip to Korea, Linda discovered a deeply vibrant and innovative place.

Lynda: I was immediately struck by the sense of real energy within the climate. And it's an incredible urban culture. Also, I think, for me, and it kept coming across as we went to different museums, especially the Museum of Modern Korean History, that South Korea has progressed and moved

forward so quickly after the Korean War and the sense of industry, and I don't mean in terms of factories or that kind of industry, although it's there clearly, but the sense of industriousness. Let me put it that way, an incredible energy as well as a very, very evident visual culture. Koreans have every reason to be extraordinarily proud of what they have produced culturally, whether it's theatrically, visually, certainly

musically. Koreans have a very distinctive aesthetic, I think, in terms of how much they appreciate natural beauty and simplicity and elegance and sophistication, in terms of how they design their environments and how they have created what we would associate with their art and culture, things like

ceramics and textiles and screens. But the pride in the culture, I think, is hard won because it is a country

that has experienced a lot of strife, and not controversy, but strife between cultures, with the Japanese, with the Russians, with the Chinese. So it's a culture that represents this incredible absorption and

modification, transformation of what they've learned from other cultures. But there is something very distinctively, centrally Korean about it all.

Dinah: To get from there to here, to steady themselves during turbulence, the Korean people surrounded themselves with artworks and everyday objects that enriched their lives and embodied their wishes and aspirations. Artists emblazoned everything from paintings to clothing to pieces of furniture with signs and symbols promising wealth, longevity, peace, and salvation.

Jiyeon: So this is a child's head.

Dinah: We are in storage with our curator, looking at objects that are being prepared for the Korean gallery.

Jiyeon: What we see is this beautiful, gorgeous embroidery on the head. And then you see beautiful flowers and also animals…crane, deer. These are very typical popular longevity symbols in Asia. What I really like about this hat is this feeling of joy and happiness. And they were made by mothers.

And you can almost imagine how the mother who made this hat conveyed her wishes for their children into all these numerous tiny stitches. It was typically worn by little girls, but, I mean, later on, it was also

worn by a boy. So you can call it the children's hat. The Korean name for this hat means bridle.

Some people say that it implies the social restriction imposed on women back in the old days.

If you look at the shape, it really looks like a bridle. What do you think? So beautifully constructed.

Red, green, yellow, turquoise, magenta, and larger, like straps of two colors. Deep blue.

Gorgeous. Deep blue and magenta. We see these four larger, like, straps falling over the children's

shoulders. And on the back.

Dinah: It looks like maybe even like a rainbow.

Jiyeon: Yeah, yeah. These are rocks, and maybe. I'm not really sure. These are probably rocks and water. Yeah. So those are all like a longevity symbol. You know, the mortality rate was extremely high. So, you know, the number one wish for their children is that they live longer.

Dinah: Is that a tiger on the right?

Jiyeon: Yeah, tiger. Look at this tiger.

Dinah: So cute.

Jiyeon: Yeah. It's so cheerful and it almost looks mischievous. It looks like it's just out of a fairytale.

Dinah: Wow. It's one thing to look at it, but when you explain all of these and what they mean, it's really, really beautiful.

Jiyeon: Many art objects that happens in the main part, you see this typical pattern. It's more like an economical thing. But on the back, on the side, you see this little, little creative touch. I like this artist’s cheerful expression. And I like fairytale-like quality. I like this joy and happiness, as I said. And then when you imagine all the love the mother had toured their children when they were making it really makes my heart warm and happy.

Dinah: Why do you want this object in this installation? What do you hope people learn about Korean culture from this?

Jiyeon: Oh, so this is in this textile section. We talk a lot about the women's work and then how they express their artistic creativity. As in many other societies, women's position was very low. And then they were not allowed to, for example, go to school or like, write. And there were scholars and there were people from upper class, like men from the upper class who painted, who wrote calligraphy to express

themselves. But women were not allowed to do that. This is from our collection. It was donated by this very, very important woman who founded actually an embroidery museum in Korea. Yeah, it's a gift from her.

Dinah: Talking about this embroidered piece reminds Jiyeon of her grandmother who was a seamstress.

Jiyeon: My grandmother, actually she was a seamstress. She lived in North Korea. When she came down south during the war, she lost everything. So she had to support the family with this needlework. So she worked as a seamstress. So I can really relate to these women's lives. I mean, you know, the sleepless nights that they have to spend doing this needlework. But this is beautiful and this is great, but it also needs a lot of, like, time and effort and labor. Sore hands, fingers. Yeah. So if you can imagine, I consider the embroidery and the sewing their best friend. Sometimes they can feel, you know, kind of lonely. We see a lot of, like, the literature about how they spend the lonely night with all these, like, needles in their hand and the sewing and thinking about their lovers and all these things. It's a pastime and also a way of healing.

Dinah: Healing. As visitors explore the gallery and the diverse works created by Korean artists, they're invited to think about healing, to reflect on the essential role that art and artists play in our lives, lifting our spirits, offering comfort, inspiring us and helping us navigate change and challenges.

Sue: You know, at the heart of our museum and our values, we really mean it. We are a human centered museum.

Dinah: Sue Kim again.

Sue: And I think a part of what that means is we tell human stories. It's not a museum about objects, but about people. The stories and the creativity and the talent that created these beautiful works from all around the world, and they tell powerful stories. It speaks to our values and who we have always been and will continue to be. And the Korean gallery reflects all of that.

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Dinah: That's our show. Thanks for listening. The Yu Kil-Chun Gallery of Korean Art is now on view. To learn more about the exhibition and the ways that Seoul will be coming to Salem, go to pem.org. Ever wonder about your neighbors, the strangers you pass in the apartment elevator or on the street? In a companion exhibition called Jung Yeondoo: Building Dreams, you're invited to look closer at your neighbors through two featured photographic works that teach us about Korean urban life. This episode of the PEMcast is produced by me, Dinah Cardin and edited and mixed by Marc Patenaude. Find all of our episodes, going back more than 10 years, on PEM.org or wherever you listen to podcasts.