BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Korea gallery trail
Trail information
Duration
About 20 minutes
Room 67
Korea gallery
Daily: 10.00–17.00
See full opening hours
See the 'Korea' exhibition
Korea is open 1 October 2026 – 31 January 2027.
What do the latest album from global music sensation BTS and the British Museum's Korea gallery have in common? Rather a lot as it turns out!
BTS's fifth studio album ARIRANG takes its motif from the Korean folk song that has become an enduring symbol of Korean identity and cultural heritage.
So, in celebration of our new show-stopping exhibition Korea, exploring 2,000 years of creativity on the peninsula, we've created a trail around The Korea Foundation Gallery (Room 67) of five objects exploring those themes.
The trail is part of BTS THE CITY ARIRANG – London's citywide celebration transforming the capital into an immersive fan experience, highlighting locations and activities supporting the BTS WORLD TOUR ARIRANG – in London.
Join exhibition curator, Sang-ah Kim, for a quick tour of objects in the gallery that speak to Arirang and the creative history that continues to shape K-culture.
Sarangbang
1. Sarangbang 사랑방
The sarangbang (scholar's room) was traditionally a room for learning, creativity and conversation within the home in the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). Its open doors invite visitors to come in, reflect and discover.
This full-scale reconstruction was built by Korean master craftsmen in summer 2000 and represents a sarangbang from a 19th-century yangban (upper-class noble).
The open doors can be seen as an invitation towards new beginnings, reflecting themes of optimism and momentum (themes that run throughout ARIRANG).
Moon jar
2. Moon jar 달항아리
The moon jar is one of Korea's most celebrated ceramic forms. Created by joining two separately thrown halves into a single vessel, each example is unique, with subtle variations that reflect the hand of its maker.
To many people, they also represent the two ends of the Korean peninsula and their shared humanity. Its gentle form and quiet beauty have made it an enduring symbol of Korean craftsmanship and identity – and artists continue to draw inspiration from the moon jar today.
Silla Kingdom 신라
One of the tracks on ARIRANG, No. 29, is simply the sound of the Bell of King Seongdeok (National Treasure No. 29) being struck, with its resonance playing throughout.
The largest surviving bell in the country, the Bell of King Seongdeok is one of Korea's most celebrated historic objects. While the bell is not on display at the British Museum, the Korea gallery includes remarkable objects from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC–AD 935), during which the bell was created. Together, they offer an insight into a kingdom renowned for its artistic achievement and craftsmanship.
Gold earring
3. Gold earring 금귀걸이
These exquisite earrings show just how advanced Korean goldsmithing was in the first century AD. Crafted using sophisticated techniques including filigree (where you twist, curl and weave fine threads of precious metals into intricate, lace-like patterns) and granulation (where you decorate metal surfaces with tiny, perfectly spherical beads), they are testament to Korea's deep-rooted tradition of craftsmanship.
Roof tiles
4 and 5. Roof tiles 수막새
For an idea of what the capital of the Silla Kingdom was like, we can turn to the roof tiles that once adorned some of the many palaces, administrative buildings and Buddhist temples in this once flourishing city.
While none of the buildings themselves have survived intact, the roof tiles speak to the architectural ambition and cultural vitality of the age. Moulded from clay and kiln-baked in their thousands, these tiles were both functional and decorative, featuring lotus flowers sacred to Buddhism, grapevines symbolising prosperity, and fantastical beasts at the corners of roofs, believed to ward off evil spirits.
These small, fired fragments of clay have outlasted the very buildings they once sheltered, enduring witnesses to a culture that has always found ways to persevere and renew itself. Having survived for centuries, these roof tiles are a reminder of the enduring legacy of Korean art and culture. As you explore them, consider how ARIRANG also draws on Korea's cultural heritage, creating new connections between the past and the present.
