Visitors look around the Discoveries from the Sinan Shipwreck exhibition at the National Museum of Korea, Monday. / Yonhap







By Kwon Mee-yoo

A large merchant vessel pulled up anchor at Qingyuan Port (now Ningbo City) in Zhejiang Province of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and left on a voyage to the Port of Hakata (now Fukuoka) in Japan in 1323. The trade ship, estimated to be 34 meters long and 11 meters wide, was loaded with Chinese ceramics, wooden lacquerware and metal crafts, but it never reached its destination -- it foundered off the southwest coast of Sinan, South Jeolla Province.

The shipwreck was completely forgotten until a fisherman from Sinan caught several pieces of pottery in his net in 1975. The celadon was reported to authorities, and the Department of Korean Cultural Properties (now the Cultural Heritage Administration) embarked on a major excavation project in October 1976, unearthing the existence of the Sinan shipwreck.

The discovery was a breakthrough for underwater archaeology in Korea. Over 28 tons of coins and approximately 24,000 cultural properties were found from the shipwreck in 11 searches through 1984.





Discoveries from the Sinan Shipwreck / Courtesy of National Museum of Korea



The National Museum of Korea (NMK) hosts the "Discoveries from the Sinan Shipwreck" exhibition, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the excavation of the sunken ship, featuring around 20,000 artifacts dredged up from the vessel that sunk about 650 years ago.

At the Special Exhibition Gallery of the NKM, the exhibit sheds light on the historic significance of the relics from the merchant ship, especially cultural changes among East Asian countries through sea routes.

Previously, exhibits on the Sinan shipwreck only presented the most highly valued artifacts and only about 1,000 out of the total 24,000 artifacts have been shown to the public. This time, the museum offers as much as possible, giving visitors a glimpse of the vast quantity of relics from the shipwreck.

Scales, silver ingot used as currency and wooden tags found in the ship show how trading was carried out in the 14th century. The oldest Japanese chessboard was also on board the Sinan shipwreck.

The highlight of the exhibit is the porcelain and coin display, which overwhelms viewers with its quantity. Visitors can have a glimpse of the amount of relics found in the ship from the piled coins and layers of ceramics.

A small white porcelain dish decorated with pink leaves and a poetry quote wraps up the exhibit. The poem reads "Why is the stream running so hastily whilst in the deep palace I'm passing my idle days." Dating back to the Tang Dynasty, the poem written by a court lady recalls the victims of this shipwreck, now referred to as a treasure ship.

The exhibit runs until Sept. 4 at the museum in Seoul and then travels to the Gwangju National Museum from Oct. 25 to Jan. 30, 2017. Admission is 5,000 won for adults. For more information, visit museum.go.kr or call 02-2077-9000.