Script and its artistic expression, calligraphy (Korean seoye), play a major role in Korean art. Chinese script with its ideographic and pictographic characters (Korean hanja) was already adopted in Korea in the 1st century. From the 15th century onward, the phonetic script (Korean hangeul), invented at the behest of King Sejong (r. 1418 – 1450), was added.
The differently shaped strokes of these two scripts are traditionally written with brush and ink. Painting is also executed with the same media and with brushstrokes similar to calligraphy. Script art is also found on applied art objects. Decorations are inspired by the aesthetics of calligraphy with its modulated strokes and lines.
To illustrate the influence and significance of calligraphy, the exhibition contrasts works of contemporary script art and traditional as well as modern painting with examples of ceramics and bronzes from the Goryeo period (918 – 1392), a cultural golden age of Korean culture.