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Open · Until 3 Jan 2027

Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea

The Fourth King of Hell (detail), late 1300s

The Fourth King of Hell, late 1300s. Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold ink on silk; 63 x 45.3 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund and museum purchase from various donors by exchange and partial gift of the Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD, 2019.224 · approved press images, supplied via press office 20 Oct 2026

Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea is on view at Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, United States, until January 3, 2027.

Last verified October 25, 2026 · Official source ↗

An international exhibition on how Goryeo-dynasty Korea (918–1392) imagined death, purgatory and the afterlife. At its center are all ten late-14th-century Ten Kings of Hell hanging scrolls, now split among six museums and shown together for the first time since the 1960s, including the long-lost Third King recently rediscovered in Gunma, Japan. More than 100 works from Korea, Japan, the US and the UK follow the soul's passage from death through judgment to the Buddhist paradise, with paintings, ceramics, metalwork and textiles alongside contemporary works by Do Ho Suh, Anicka Yi, Park Chan-kyong and Gala Porras-Kim. Organized with the National Museum of Korea. Closed 1 December for a rotation of works.

The Cleveland Museum of Art in partnership with the National Museum of Korea

Venue

  1. Cleveland Museum of Art
    Cleveland, United States · October 11, 2026 – January 3, 2027
    Until 3 Jan 2027

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Images

Detail of a medieval Korean scroll painting: demons drive sinners through red flames before a seated judge of hell

The Fourth King of Hell (detail), late 1300s

The Fourth King of Hell, late 1300s. Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold ink on silk; 63 x 45.3 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund and museum purchase from various donors by exchange and partial gift of the Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD, 2019.224 · approved press images, supplied via press office 20 Oct 2026 · Source ↗

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