Peace Corps Volunteers donate Korean art collection worth $250,000

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Karl Drobnic (Ethiopia, 1966-68)

 

Gary and Mary Ann Mintier pose together in Korea in 1970. Courtesy of the Mintiers© Provided by The Korea Times

An American couple who came to Korea in 1969 to work as Peace Corps volunteers have donated the art they collected during their six years here. The 140 items donated last year were valued at a quarter of a million dollars, they said.

At first, their family tried to talk the lively 70-somethings out of giving away such a large amount of their money.

“But it’s money we never really had,” Gary Mintier remarked when sharing their story.

Three Joseon-era paintings, from left, ‘mukmaedo,’ a painting of plum blossom flowers, ‘mokjukdo,’ a painting of a bamboo tree, and ‘sukgokdo,’ a painting of a dendrobium plant, are on display at the National Library in southern Seoul, May 2. Mukmaedo and mokjukdo are by famous Joseon-era painter Song Soo-myeon, and sukgokdo is by Yi Bang-ja, the last crown princess of Joseon who was born Japanese and married Yi Un, Joseon’s last crown prince. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar© Provided by The Korea Times

Gary and his wife Mary Ann had done most of their art shopping in what they referred to as “Mary’s Alley,” an old term for central Seoul’s Insa-dong, which has been known for housing a market selling art and antiques. Most of the art they purchased was priced very cheaply, as Korea was a poor country in those days, and centuries-old art wasn’t a high priority.

When their time in Korea ended in 1975, they brought the art collection back to the United States with them. By that time, the Korean government was starting to crack down on the exportation of cultural heritage, and Gary recalled they needed to apply for permission to bring the art pieces with them.

A four-panel folding screen bears drawings of ‘sagunja,’ or the ‘four gentlemen’ flowers, which refers to the plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo and the chrysanthemum, each representing a virtue required in a gentleman. The screen, donated by Peace Corps volunteers Gary and Mary Ann Mintier, is on display at the National Library in southern Seoul, May 2. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar© Provided by The Korea Times

Over the ensuing decades, their art collection remained a cherished part of their lives and helped keep Korea in their minds — as well as the minds of family and close friends. They taught their children and later their grandchildren about Korea and continued to make Korean food at home.

An ancient woodblock made by Confucian scholar Yi Yu-jang (1625-1701) and used to print ‘Chunchu,’ or ‘Spring, fall,’ donated by Gary and Mary Ann Mintier, is on display at the National Library in southern Seoul, May 2. The book is a Confucian scripture that chronicles the history of the Lu dynasty of China. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar© Provided by The Korea Times

The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation facilitated the Mintiers’ donation to the National Library, helping keep all donated items together in one collection. Currently, all the items are housed at the National Library in southern Seoul, where some of them are on display for the next few months.

The Mintiers returned to Korea on March 26 for a visit that is still ongoing. As well as traveling all the sites they remember in Korea and Japan, they’ve been showing around at least seven children, children-in-law and grandchildren who have visited at various different times over the months. During this time, they went on a temple tour in Busan with temple blogger Dale Quarrington and attended a Royal Asiatic Society Korea lecture that was a tribute to their friend Peter Bartholomew, who moved to Korea in 1968 and stayed here until his death in 2021.

Mary Ann and Gary Mintier enjoy beer and fried chicken after a Royal Asiatic Society Korea lecture in central Seoul, April 23. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar© Provided by The Korea Times

On April 22 the Mintiers attended a donation ceremony at the National Library, where their donation was unveiled along with other donated items also returned to Korea by other donors.

“How can you speak about seeing artifacts that have been with you most of your life? I thanked the people who helped find a safe place for all of them, told how it happened and turned the mic over to Mary Ann,” Gary said of the experience. “When she really realized that this was happening, she started crying and could not stop. I was crying with her. But she regained her composure and told how these were part of our life. How when we would see them every day it would connect us to Korea. The deal was done.”

But do they regret giving up the art trove?

“In the almost seven years we lived in Korea, Korea gave us so much. More than most people could imagine,” Gary wrote. “So, if we can give this one little bit back to Korea, we are happy.”

Mary Ann and Gary Mintier point to a plaque bearing their names on a display of donors during a ceremony at the National Library, Courtesy of Mary Ann and Gary Mintier© Provided by The Korea Times

Visit gemintier.blogspot.com to read more about Gary and Mary Ann’s donation and their 2024 visit to Korea.