[Oh Hyun-Ju, Culture Correspondent] “Mr. Jeon’s collection contains a great many couplets by Master Wandang. If one were to rank them by merit, where would this couplet be placed? (…) This is a work that, with its bold and outstanding spirit, is undoubtedly among the very best. Written by Oh Se-chang in the winter of the Gimyŏ year” (outer inscription). “(…) Even if my commentary on this calligraphy is feeble and ordinary, I hope the owner of Bohwagak will laugh it off. Rewritten by Old Man Wi-chang” (Outer Preface).

This text is an excerpt from “Master Wandang’s Shu-style Couplet in the Divine Category” (脘堂先生蜀作隷對聯神品·1939), written by Wi Chang Oh Se-chang (1864–1953). To put it simply, it means “the most outstanding work among the Shu-style couplets written by Master Wandang.”

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to dig into the wealth of “information” surrounding this text. Even at a glance, it’s clear this critical essay focuses on the work titled “Cha Ho Ho Gong” (且呼好共, “Let Us Call and Enjoy Together,” designated a National Treasure in 2018), written by Wandang. Wandang is another pen name of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui (1786–1856). It is a pen name that Kim Jeong-hui used more frequently and cherished more than “Chusa,” by which he is better known for his “Chusa style.” In other words, this is Oh Se-chang’s critique of the couplet “Cha Ho Ho Gong,” written by Kim Jeong-hui in his late 60s in the “Chokye” style—a form of clerical script from the Han Dynasty carved on the cliffs of the Chu region in China.

However, for some reason, it seems the commentary went beyond mere academic criticism. It was written as if it were meant to be read by someone right away. That’s right. That “someone” is also mentioned in this text. To quote the text verbatim, it is “Mr. Jeon,” the “owner of Bohwagak.” This is none other than Gansong Jeon Hyeong-pil (1906–1962), whom we know well. It is a well-known fact that Gansong had been intensively collecting calligraphy and paintings by Kim Jeong-hui and the Chusa School since the 1930s, and wasn’t it Oh Se-chang who ranked this piece of calligraphy as the finest among them?

That leaves the question of where this inscription was written. It was on a “paulownia box”—specifically, the “box inscription” (箱書) written on the outside (on the lid) and inside of the paulownia box that contained the “Cha Ho-ho Gong” scroll, which was rolled up inside.

All of this was part of Gansong’s “plan.” Gansong, who had been collecting cultural heritage since the 1930s, not only had the paulownia box crafted to store each artifact but also commissioned “inscriptions” from the most authoritative figures of the time to authenticate the pieces and convey their value and significance. In other words, he left a record to ensure that the stories behind the artifacts in the box would be fully passed down to future generations.

◇One Paulownia Box, Worth One to Ten Gamani of Rice

The Gansong Art Museum in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, opened “Accompanying Texts: Reading the Collection” as its special exhibition this fall. The exhibition goes beyond the “artwork exhibitions” held in the past, which simply showcased artifacts and artworks from the Gansong Art and Cultural Foundation’s collection. Instead, it presents the artifacts, the paulownia wood boxes, and the accompanying texts inscribed on them as a complete package. A total of 51 items comprising 106 pieces—including 21 sets of 45 artifacts (12 sets of Joseon-era calligraphy and paintings, and 9 sets of modern calligraphy and paintings) and 30 sets of 61 exhibition notes—were on display. This marks the first time the Gansong Collection’s “storage system” has been revealed on such a large scale.

It is said that the Gansong Collection’s storage chests were first put to full use in 1934. This began when the “Bukdanjang” (a site acquired as a hub for collecting cultural artifacts; later home to Bohwagak, the predecessor of the Gansong Museum) was established in Seongbuk-dong, and the collection was moved from the family home in Jongno. However, there was a step taken before the actual relocation: the creation of storage chests to house the collection. It is said that they sought out the finest artisans in Gyeongseong to ensure the boxes were precisely tailored to the size of each artifact. Paulownia wood—which was not only resistant to insects and rot but also excellent for humidity control and insulation—was the ideal choice, but the problem was the cost. Each box reportedly cost between 20 and 200 won. Given that a single gamani of rice cost around 20 won at the time, this means some boxes cost as much as ten gamani of rice. Since the Gansong Art Museum holds about 700 paulownia wood boxes, in today’s terms, this was a “flex” that cannot be easily imitated. It was a “value flex” born of conviction, philosophy—or rather, a sense of mission.

The records were compiled after the paulownia wood boxes were prepared and the works had undergone authentication. Out of approximately 700 boxes, records were confirmed for 258. The museum identified four individuals from the handwriting preserved in those records. Leading the list was Oh Se-chang—the foremost connoisseur of his time and Gansong’s mentor, who specialized in Joseon, Chinese, and Japanese calligraphy and painting—followed by Lee Do-young (1884–1933), who specialized in Joseon calligraphy and painting; Lee Han-bok (1897–1944), who focused on the Chusa School and modern calligraphy and painting; and Nagao Uzan (1864–1942), a Japanese Confucian scholar well-versed in Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and painting. At Gansong’s request, these individuals inscribed the histories of the artifacts and artworks contained within the paulownia box—both on the inside and outside—in ink. The entries included not only the artist’s name and the title of the work but also the materials used, the history of its transmission, the circumstances of its acquisition, and even critical appraisals—sometimes solemn, sometimes playful.

This special exhibition is also guided and defined by the appraisals written by these four experts. Regarding Danwon Kim Hong-do’s (1745–after 1806) figure painting *Stealing Peaches in Nangwon*, Oh Se-chang asserted in 1934 that it was “a masterpiece of Danwon’s figure painting and a forgery rarely seen in recent times.” Furthermore, regarding Kim Jeong-hui’s work from his 30s, *Jikseong Sugyu* (*Straight Sound and Excellent Verses*), he revealed the piece’s long journey through the hands of many—a history that could never be discerned from the work alone. He wrote, “This five-character couplet in running script, which Wandang presented to Go Sun, was acquired by someone at the Yanjing market and became part of the Jeon family’s Bohwagak collection—truly a strange twist of fate” (1939). In fact, after being passed on to Go Sun, this work ended up in the collection of a Chinese collector, was then accidentally discovered and purchased by Park Seok-yun—the brother-in-law of Yuktang Choi Nam-seon—and eventually became part of Jeon Hyeong-pil’s collection.

Oh Won Jang Seung-eop’s (1843–1897) “Three Heroes of a Turbulent World,” Simjeon Ahn Jung-sik’s (1861–1919) “Chungmugong of Hansando” (1918), and “Pictures of Historical Figures and Their Anecdotes” by So-rim Jo Seok-jin (1853–1920) were also displayed alongside the memorial scroll. Among these, there is an interesting story behind “Pictures of Historical Figures and Their Anecdotes,” a 12-panel hanging scroll originally housed in a paulownia wood box, which was confirmed to have been a folding screen. It turns out that this was the very folding screen that appeared in the background of a photograph taken of Gansong on his first birthday.

◇A Collection Is Only Complete When Acquisition, Appraisal, and Preservation Are All in Place

Ultimately, this is the core of this special exhibition: that the Gansong Collection was completed by rigorously carrying out every step—from the strict authentication of collected artifacts to “official recognition,” which can be considered the final stage of acquisition. It demonstrates that a collection is not merely about purchasing expensive items and quietly storing them away. Jeon Young-woo, chairman of the Gansong Art and Culture Foundation and Gansong’s second son, wrote the following for this exhibition: “In my youth, I used to trace the warmth of the artifacts inside the boxes; now, I slowly read the inscriptions left on the lids. (…) These inscriptions are not merely words written on boxes; they are quiet letters my father left for us in the distant future, and a testament to his faith in culture.”

This exhibition brings to a close a series of six special exhibitions organized over three years starting in 2024 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Gansong’s birth. The museum has now spent exactly six springs and autumns since its renovation and reopening. “Bohwagak 1938” (Spring 2024), “Wi-chang Oh Se-chang: Appraisal and Artistic Expression in the Gansong Collection” (Fall 2024), “Seon-u Pung-wol: “The Fan: A Friend Who Shares the Wind and the Moon” (Spring 2025), “Bohwagak Treasury: The Gansong Collection—Modern Discernment Preserved in Bohwagak” (Fall 2025), and “Culture for the Nation: Our Spirit Preserved Through Conviction” (Spring 2026), leading up to this “Sangseo” exhibition. Jeon In-geon, Director of the Gansong Art Museum, stated, “It is our role to reveal even the history preserved within the paulownia wood boxes themselves,” adding, “‘Sangseo’ is a theme fitting as the grand finale of this three-year, six-exhibition series.”

While it would have been easy to boast about achievements by highlighting the number of visitors—a metric many museums prioritize—the museum simply announced the conclusion of a three-year project, which could be considered either short or long, depending on one’s perspective. And this was true even without considering the artifacts on display. It reads as a reflection of Gansong’s mindset—one that took great care to avoid even the slightest casual display of a single piece, while also delicately acknowledging the truly arduous work of the museum staff. It was precisely that “paulownia wood box”—one that would shatter itself to protect the artworks from external shocks. The exhibition runs through December 6.