Korea, the kingdom of the scholars: a historic and immersive exhibition at the Cernuschi Museum

Through a collaboration with Korea University, the Musée Cernuschi invites you to glimpse the fascinating daily life of the yangban, the intellectual elite that shaped the identity of the Joseon kingdom (1392-1910), beginning on 20 November 2026. With masterworks of ancient painting, traditional costumes, and period furnishings, this exhibition offers a genuine time machine to the heart of the Korea.

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The route shines a light on impressive, substantial bodies of work. The objective? Immerse the visitor in the refined aesthetics of the era. There, you can discover, in particular, the hushed, velvet-draped interiors in which these scholars lived, through a selection of paravents, cabinets of curiosities, ceramics, and refined costumes. If the visual journey promises poetry, the trail also aims to decode the codes of a society à la fois méritocratique et aristocratique, where access to official offices was earned through complex examinations inspired by the Chinese model.

Beyond the lifestyle of the yangban, the exhibition offers a sweeping panorama of the artistic mutations that have spanned five centuries of the Joseon era. Fans of calligraphy and landscape painting should be delighted by the presence of masterful works of ancient Korean painting.

All these works of art and everyday objects help explain how Korea forged its strong cultural identity—a distinctive aesthetic grounded in restraint and elegance, whose echoes and influence still subtly shape modern Korea today.