A floating museum in commemoration of Korea’s modern art master Kim Whan-ki will be established in the artist’s hometown in Shinan County, South Jeolla Province, late in the next year.

“The floating museum is the first-ever floating museum in Korea,” an official from the county office told The Korea Herald on Sunday. “The floating museum is part of our project to build a kind of a theme park dedicated to Kim Whan-ki in his home town.”

The floating museum will be located on a lake approximately 400 meters from the artist’ home where he lived until his early teenage years. The construction of the museum in a 2,200-square-meter scale is expected to complete late in the next year, according to the county.

Born in 1913, Kim was a pioneer of Korean abstract painting. His masterpiece “05-IV-71 #200 (Universe)” recorded the highest-ever price for a Korean artwork sold at an auction by fetching 13.2 billion won ($10.8 million) at a Hong Kong auction last year. The painting measured 2.5 meters-by-2.5 meters is filled with blue dots and lines, which is his signature painting style.

Kim is known to have been influenced by the nature of his hometown, which is surrounded by the sea, longing for the scenery of the nature throughout his life.

The county is working on a project to build a museum on every island to attract tourists.


By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)