"Dedication of a Yangban Family, Embraced by the Museum"…Silhak Museum Presents Special Exhibition on Jeoniu Yi Clan

Precious artifacts preserved by a single family across centuries are being reborn as shared cultural assets through donation. The Silhak Museum (Director, etc.) under the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation announced that it will hold a special exhibition on donated artifacts titled 《Jeoniu Yi Clan 全義李氏 - The Life and Legacy of a Family Serving the Nation》 in the museum's first-floor Special Exhibition Hall from November 19 to March 1 next year.

This exhibition was organized to commemorate the large-scale donation of the Jeoniu Yi Clan's historically significant artifacts to the Silhak Museum in 2024 by the Cheonggang and Jibum lineage associations. By sharing family heritage that had remained in the private sphere with society, the exhibition aims to allow a broader audience and researchers to illuminate the lives of yangban families during the Joseon Dynasty.

The Jeoniu Yi Clan is recognized as a representative bureaucratic family of the Joseon Dynasty that fulfilled public responsibilities for the nation and its people across both civil and military domains. This exhibition showcases a diverse collection of 32 items comprising 35 pieces of artifacts and materials including clothing, seals, portraits, and classical documents preserved by the family.

Notable exhibits include the portrait of Yi Su-jun (1559-1607), a prominent figure of the middle and late Joseon period, and the portrait of Yi Deok-su (1673-1744), as well as clothing excavated from Yi In-son's tomb and the 《Jeoniu Yi Clan Genealogy》(1634), vividly presenting the daily culture and identity of yangban families during the Joseon Dynasty.

The exhibition transcends a mere listing of artifacts, weaving together the stories of ancestors who served the nation, along with the footsteps of descendants who have remembered and preserved their legacy, in a narrative format. It offers a vivid encounter with the process by which individual history expands into a social heritage.

A Silhak Museum official stated, "These artifacts contain the lives of people who lived through times of struggle over many years and the passage of descendants who quietly preserved them," adding, "Through this exhibition, we hope visitors will reflect on the public responsibilities of Joseon Dynasty yangban and appreciate the social value embodied in artifact donations together."

Meanwhile, on November 27, the opening week of the exhibition, an academic conference titled 《Jeoniu Yi Clan: Family History and Culture Through Records and Artifacts》 will be held in the Silhak Museum's Yeolsu Hall to provide greater academic depth. This special exhibition is free for admission.