Louvre Museum reopens Korean hall

The Louvre Museum in France will reopen the Korean Hall in its Oriental Arts Museum on Jan. 15 after five years of repair work, Korea Foundation chairman Lee In-ho said Monday.

The Oriental Arts Museum underwent repairs beginning in 1996 that expanded the Korean Hall to 108 pyong (one pyong equals 3.3 square meters) from the previous 20 pyong.

The increase makes it the largest among halls devoted to specific countries, the Foundation said.

To celebrate the reopening, some 1,000 Korean art works are now on display, including a standing Buddha image from the Unified Silla Kingdom, ``Suwol Kwanumdo,¡¯¡¯ a painting from the Koryo Kingdom, and ``Pungsoktobyong,¡¯¡¯ a painting produced by Kim Hong-do during the Choson Kingdom.