The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (Director General: Lim Jong-Deock; hereafter, the NRICH), an affiliate of Korea Heritage Service, is introducing a global online Korean art information service in collaboration with the Getty Research Institute* (Director: Mary Miller; hereafter, the GRI) in the U.S.

* Getty Research Institute (GRI): A program of the J. Paul Getty Trust that has become a leader in conducting digital art history projects and building art information databases.

Since 2023, the NRICH has promoted the development of Korean art information in accordance with international standards. It has supplied information to the Getty Vocabularies*, an online platform for art history terminology that is offered and maintained by the GRI.

* Getty Vocabularies: An international database related to art history terminology operated by the GRI, it maintains consistency in information by abiding by the international standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is being used in partnership with other global art databases or as a source for them.

The NRICH has provided Getty Vocabularies with information on 400 Korean artists, including Kim Jeonghui (1786-1856) and Gang Huimaeng (1424-1483), allowing accurate and diverse searches for information through the Union List of Artist Names* (ULAN).
* Union List of Artist Names (ULAN): A sub-database within the Getty Vocabularies that offers artists’ names and biographical information.

In an effort to provide systematic services related to Korean art information, the NRICH investigated cases of other countries and presented on its development of information on Korean artists at the 2024 International Terminology Working Group * (ITWG) (Oct. 23?25) convened in October in Los Angeles, in which twelve countries participated online and in person.
* International Terminology Working Group (ITWG): Starting in 1988, it has served as an international gathering with participation by experts in cultural heritage, museum documentation, and archival science.

Moreover, on November 12, 2024 the NRICH concluded the exchange and cooperation agreement between the GRI as the first South Korean entity to provide information about Korean art heritage in a more systematic manner. In December, it plans to provide information on an additional 700 Korean artists, including Jang Seungeop (1843-1897) and Jeon Gi (1825-1854). Furthermore, in addition to the provision of terms for Korean art heritage, it will examine how to facilitate global access to the NRICH’s digital information on Korean art heritage through the Getty Research Portal* and discuss it with the Getty Research Institute.
* Getty Research Portal: A free online search platform maintained by the GRI, providing worldwide access to digitized art history texts from participating institutions around the world.

 
The information that the NRICH and GRI are collaborating to make accessible worldwide can be found on the Getty Vocabularies website (https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/ulan/index.html).

The NRICH will continue to ensure that terms and information about Korean art heritage are available through global online platforms as part of its efforts to contribute to laying the foundation for both domestic and international research and fostering the exchange of knowledge across borders.

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