Collecting and displaying Korean contemporary craft and design at the V&A, 1919 to 2019

The V&A's Korean collection is a prominent holding of Korean craft and design in Britain. A significant shift to collecting occurred in the early 1990s with the Museum's new impetus on collecting the contemporary and the establishment of its Korean gallery. This coincided with the rise of Korea on the international scene and its increasing interest in promoting arts and creative industries. This studentship proposes to unravel the museum's collecting history of Korean craft and design from 1990s, and articulate it in the context of the institution's collecting practice and the Korea's 'soft power' of cultural diplomacy since 1990s. New understanding of the Korean collection contributes towards strengthening and displaying a meaningful collection of contemporary Korean craft and design.