Koryo Museum of Art

• Name — Koryo Museum of Art • Native Name — 高麗美術館 • Location — 15 Shichiku, Kaminokishi-chō, Kita-ku, Japan • Type — Korean art museum • Founder — Jeong Jo-mun • Established — 1988 10 25 • Website — http: www.koryomuseum.or.jp/index.php (in Japanese)

The museum was founded by ethnic Korean Jeong Jo-mun (1918–1989). Jeong's father was a former official in the Korean government before Japan colonized Korea. When Jeong was six years old (around 1924), his family moved to Japan. As a young adult, Jeong initially worked in difficult manual labor jobs, including as a dockworker. He eventually became incredibly wealthy from running a pachinko business in Kyoto. He then began to collect Korean art. In 1969, he began publishing a quarterly magazine showcasing his relics. The magazine's final issue was its 50th, published in 1981. In them, Jeong made a point of juxtaposing a historical Japanese narrative, that Koreans were unenlightened and had little culture, with the beauty of the art. The magazine was well-received; an article in the Kyoto Shimbun once praised it and lamented the fact that Koreans had been viewed so poorly. In 1972, Jeong and a group of historians began searching the entirety of Japan for Korea-related relics. Around 500 people became involved in the search. The relics acquired from this effort eventually became part of the Koryo Museum of Art's collection. Jeong converted his own home into the site of the museum.