Carved by Korean folk artists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these tiny, brightly painted sculptures of clowns, tigers and acrobats—known as kkoktu—would seem to belong in a child’s toy box. For centuries, however, Koreans have used them to decorate coffins.

This exhibition gives Americans a chance to glimpse the rich cultural and spiritual meanings of the kkoktu.

Costumed and posed to reflect the realities of rural Korean village life of the past, individual kkoktus are a window on a period that has left few written records. They’re also a window onto a timeless, characteristically Korean attitude towards death. Though the kkoktus’ gaiety seems incongruous with mourning, they express their culture’s deep desire that the dead enter the next world surrounded by joy-and its appreciation of the fleeting nature of all experience.

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Booking Information

Contents	74 objects
Fee	Upon Request
Tour Dates	Fall of 2009 through 2010
Running Feet	Minimum 120 running feet
Loan period	4 to 16 weeks
Crates	40 "  x 60 "  x 6           -1 box 10 "  x 47 "  x 8 "         - 5  boxes 26  "  x 3 2  "  x 8 "      - 9  boxes 22 "  x 29 "  x 3 "         -12  boxes 20 "  x 63 "  x 6 "         - 1  box 20 "  x 63 "  x 6.5 "      - 1  box 20 "  x 68 "  x 7 "         -1  box 24 "  x 51 "  x 30 "       -1  box 10.5 "  x 61 "  x 7 "      -1  box
Weight	TBA
Category	Korean Art / History & Folk Culture
Security	Moderate / High
Shipping	The Korea Society provides shipping to and from the exhibitor’s venue.
Contact	Jinyoung Kim Senior Program Officer for the Arts 212-759-7525 ext 316 email

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