Korea Foundation to send aspirant curators to major U.S. museums

The Korea Foundation said Thursday it will send four aspiring curators to three prestigious U.S. museums ― the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum ― in September this year.

The Met and the Boston Museum will each hire one intern, and the Guggenheim will take on two interns.

Candidates should have a master’s degree or higher in a related field, and should wish to pursue a career as a curator or a similar museum position.

The KF said its new internship program aims to provide opportunities for ambitious young Koreans to communicate with curators overseas and accumulate global knowledge and know-how and become the next-generation leaders in the cultural sector.

It is the first time that the foundation is offering such internship programs.

Internships at the Met and the Boston museum will begin in September, while the position at the Guggenheim will start in January next year.

The duration of the Boston museum internship is three months, the Met’s three to six months, and the Guggenheim Museum will last between three to four-and-a-half months.

Candidates applying for the Boston Museum position should send applications to the KF from May 30 to June 15. Those interested in the Guggenheim Museum should apply from Sept. 1-15.

Each U.S. museum will then review the applications and announce the results; in July for the Boston Museum and the Met, and in November for the Guggenheim Museum.

The Korea Foundation will provide round trip flight fares, $2,000 monthly living expenses and pay for overseas health insurance during the internship period, it said.

The interns are required to submit a report on the internship to the KF, within one month of returning to Korea.

While the number of interns for the museum internship program has been set at four this year, the KF is now in talks with major museums in Australia and the U.K. to expand the program next year, the KF said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)