The literary wonders of late Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75) are unveiled to the public free of charge at the Seoul Museum of History until Feb. 21.

A collaboration with the Odense City Museum in Denmark, the exhibition titled “I Belong to the World” showcases the classic writer’s artifacts, including his bed, manuscripts and hand-cut paper crafts, as well as artworks by Danish Queen Margrethe II and late American artist Andy Warhol (1928-87), who were inspired by Andersen.

Visitors can also read his books and engage in interactive activities such as watching films, making paper artworks and building with Lego blocks. 

“Hans Christian Andersen is an integral part of Danish culture,” said Danish Ambassador Thomas Lehmann in a speech at the opening ceremony on Thursday. “Two hundred ten years since his birth, his more than 150 fairy tales continue to enchant children around the world with magical plots, fascinating characters and everlasting moral messages.”

Andersen, born in Odense, wrote fairytales, plays, travelogues, novels and poems that have been translated into over 125 languages. His masterpieces, most notably “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Nightingale,” “The Snow Queen” and “The Ugly Duckling,” have inspired ballets, animations, films and plays.

Noting that the Little Mermaid sculpture in Copenhagen ― created by Danish-Icelandic sculptor Edvard Eriksen (1876-1959) from 1909-13 and now a tourist hotspot ― will be exhibited at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul next year, Lehmann described Seoul’s cultural development, with its growing list of museums, galleries and theater halls, as “a fairytale itself.”

The Odense City Museum director Torben Jeppesen said the exhibition would offer a window into the trials and tribulations of Andersen, an orphan in a small city who rose to become a celebrity in Romantic-era Danish society. 

“In every grown-up’s heart beats a child’s longing,” Seoul Museum of History director Kang Hong-bin said, borrowing the words of Andersen. “I am in my 70s, but pondering over Andersen’s works makes my heart pound to this day.”

“Andersen’s message, full of love, courage, devotion and tolerance, transcends time and space,” Kang added.

“It is a heartwarming, curative call for today’s world, marred by conflicts, violence, poverty and despair. That is why our museums planned this exhibition two years ago, around the time of Christmas.”

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)