Korean Funerary Figures: Companions for the Journey to the Other World

• Event Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2010–Sunday, July 11, 2010
• Location: Campbell Gallery, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free Admission

• Exhibit
• Exhibit-Related tag

Organized by the Korea Society, New York City

In nineteenth and early twentieth century Korea, artisans carved joyful wooden figurines depicting acrobats, clowns and mystical animals (kokdu) to place on the funeral biers of the departed. In their first exhibition in the US, a collection of 72 kokdu reflect the realities of rural Korean village life during a period that left few written records and open a window on a timeless, characteristically Korean attitude towards death.

The exhibition was organized in association with The Korea Society and is Courtesy of The Korea Society and The Ockrang Cultural Foundation. The Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. For more information, please visit: http://www.koreasociety.org/ (external link).