Indonesian heritage glitters at Seoul's national museum

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 07/16/2007 2:23 PM  |  Life

Retty N. Hakim, Contributor, Seoul

We rarely encounter a chance to view the beauty of our own art when visiting another country's National Museum; but such a opportunity presented itself recently in a glittering exhibition of Indonesian art at Seoul's National Museum of Korea.

The Indonesian Exhibition was actually coming to an end after two years in the wonderful setting and lighting in the museum's Asian Arts Gallery. Indonesia had the privilege to be the first country presented in the gallery since the museum's opening on Oct. 28, 2005.

Staffers from Indonesia's Museum Nasional had the chance to help prepare the exhibition display -- and along with it, a chance to gain more experience. Apparently, the exhibition was widely accepted and saw a high number of attentive visitors.

The National Museum of Korea has published a beautiful book on the exhibition, titled Art of Indonesia. Published in the Korean and English languages, it introduces the exhibition as well as the Museum Nasional in Jakarta.

On my visit, I was guided around the museum by a South Korean friend who used volunteer as a tour guide at the Museum Nasional with the non-profit Indonesian Heritage Society. It was a totally amazing experience as she pointed out objects and aspects that I might have overlooked if I wandered around the museum on my own.

Some of the exhibited items were recalled from the Museum Nasional, but some others were new -- such as the golden Harihara statue in two personages that was displayed in the Indonesian Exhibition.

Harihara represents the concept of Vishnu as Hari and Shiva as Hara, and indicates the unification of the preserver and the destroyer in one personality. The Majapahit king was personified as Harihara (this can be seen in the Majapahit Exhibition currently on display in the new wing of the Museum Nasional).

The statue of Chandra, the god of the moon, was another such piece. Dating back to the 9th-10th centuries A.D., it was an object surely overlooked before in Indonesia. While I knew the importance of the sun god Surya, as well as that of the moon in Balinese lore, this was the first time I had seen a personification of Chandra.

Most impressive was the huge scale of the National Museum of Korea, which provides a spacious venue that allows the artistic value to shine. Visitors can also choose those subjects that most attract them, as it would take a whole day -- or maybe more -- to explore the entire facility.

As South Korea is well recognized in technology brands, the museum also took advantage of the latest and most sophisticated components in its monitoring technology, which helps the museum staff in accident prevention as well as artifact preservation. This technology is said to extend the life of the museum and also reduce its maintenance cost.

One design aspect that improves the human need for comfort is the latest sunlight system in the Path of History hall. By calculating the sun's position by season and time of day, it allows the pure rays of the sun to be filtered into the hall, giving a comfortable, naturally lit environment.

The museum also caters to other needs in the form of restaurants, cafes and museum shops. A large group of elderly women was observed gathering in the self-service cafeteria, chatting happily after their session -- something of a rare sight back home.

The enthusiasm of youngsters was also evident, with some children keying the available computer to search for topics of interest.

While the museum offers an education program for family and children, it also provides an opportunity for the disabled and migrant workers to learn.

The museum booklet details a program for both visually impaired and hearing impaired children, while migrant workers are offered a lantern-making program based on the universal theme, ""Different cultures, one mind"".

The most impressive section of the museum was the Children's Museum. Although this interactive part of the museum charges a different entrance fee from the general museum, it is really worthwhile. Here, children are able to observe and experience the hands-on education provided.

Adults can also enjoy the displays -- such as in gaining basic knowledge of traditional settlements in Korean and how they combated the cold of winter in their homes. Through this, visitors learn that the climate and seasons prompted Koreans to invent technology, which formed the basic foundation of their capability to produce high-tech developments today.

It would be good to return and have another chance to see things that might have been missed during this first trip to the National Museum of Korea.

Still, I've plenty of lessons to learn -- and the satisfaction to see my country's heritage revealing their glittering beauty in a country 6.5-hours' flight from home.

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