The Joseon Carp Water Dropper That Won a Costume Contest Goes on View in Seoul

The National Museum of Korea has put its 'White Porcelain Carp-shaped Water Dropper' on public display on the third floor of the permanent exhibition hall, running through Oct. 22, after the small Joseon-era object became the unlikely star of the museum's annual costume contest.

The piece measures just 9.4 centimeters tall and 10.6 centimeters long, a blue-and-white porcelain fish caught mid-leap from painted waves. It is part of the Lee Kun-hee Collection, donated to the state by the family of the late Samsung Group chairman, and depicts an old tale in which a fish that swims against the current is transformed, a story long tied to ambition and perseverance in Korean culture.

That symbolism is what drew Jeon Eun-seul, a 22-year-old nursing student from Daejeon, to recreate the water dropper for this year's 'Dress Like a Museum Exhibit' contest. Jeon, who described herself as a job seeker unsure of her own strengths, told reporters at the finale, according to the Korea Times, that 'this award gave me a lot of courage.' Her costume, built with carved rather than painted scales to catch real shadows the way the original artifact does, won the grand prize and 3 million won ($2,200) at the museum's open plaza in Seoul on Sept. 19.

The contest, now in its third year and funded by the Friends of the National Museum of Korea, drew 275 teams and 643 participants this year, more than three times the 83 entries recorded the previous year. Museum director Yoo Hong-jun told the crowd of roughly 3,000 that the finalists looked like artifacts stepping out of their display cases, and said the event has grown into a festival that will expand further next year.

The National Museum of Korea sits at 137 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and its permanent exhibition halls are open Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 9 p.m. General admission to the permanent galleries, including the water dropper's case, is free. Visitors heading to the third floor before Oct. 22 can see the small carp that, for one night in September, leapt off its pedestal and onto a runway.