India & Southeast Asia Gallery

There is a place in Seoul’s Yongsan District where locals and tourists alike can encounter the many gods of the ASEAN region: the National Museum of Korea (NMK). More specifically, one must seek out the World Art Gallery, a section of the Permanent Exhibition Hall. (The NMK’s exhibition space is made up of the Special Exhibition Gallery and Permanent Exhibition Hall, which in turn is comprised of six sections and 50 galleries that house a total of 12,044 artifacts.) The World Art Gallery, located at the southern end of the Permanent Exhibition Hall, contains cultural traces of many parts of the world, including India & Southeast Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, and Central Asia.

By stepping into the India & Southeast Asia Gallery, visitors are entering one of very few places in Korea that house statues of gods and goddesses from not just one but all ASEAN countries. The first thing that attracts visitors’ gaze is a Cambodian stone statue of a standing Ganesh. Among worshippers, Ganesh (also spelled Ganesha), the Hindu god of wisdom and fortune who has a chubby human body, elephant’s head, and four arms, is one of the most beloved of the Hindu deities. The statue in the NMK wears an elaborate crown and a sampot, a long piece of cloth worn by wrapping it around the lower body. Three of the four arms are damaged, making it impossible to know the objects the hands once held, while the sole remaining left hand holds a still clearly distinguishable lotus blossom. Another captivating relic is a slender bronze Maitreya Boddhisatva statue from Thailand, whose identity is suggested by the stupa in the center of the head ornament. This statue, which was created in the Dvaravati period, has a thin body, proportionately outsized hands, earlobes that extend almost as far as the shoulders, large eyes and nose, and thick lips. What is noteworthy are the hands: the right holds a water bottle, while the left is posed in the gesture of reassurance and safety, known as abhaya mudra.

After a full tour of the India & Southeast Asia Gallery, one will feel as if having woken up from a dream. How about a trip to the NMK this weekend to explore the beautiful and fascinating gods of ASEAN? In accordance with current social distancing regulations, visitors are required to reserve tickets online in advance.

Source: National Museum of Korea

Bronze Maitreya Boddhisatva statue                                                                   Ganesh(Ganesha)