Among the Germans who visited in Korea up to 1929 the lawyer and Sinologist Baron Paul Georg von MOllendorf(1847-1901) is one of the significant figure. He had been sent to the korean court at the end of 1882. He not only acted for opening up the country for trade with the West, but he collected korean art works and various kinds of cultural properties enthusiastically, and sent them to the Folklore Museum in Leipzig. In one of the letters which has been preserved, von MOllendorff mentions that he had used a “collecting plan” sent to him by the Museum to guide him in selecting which objects to acquire. Taken altogether 15 different functional categories were intended to give the Museum as wide-ranging a picture as possible of Korean everyday life during the 80s of the 19th century. Von MOllendorff’s collection concentrated in its selection of objects on the everyday life of Koreans. Anything which was too big or too expensive to be transported in its original size was sent as a model. Religious life played no role in this collection. Historical objects were relegated to the category of “Curiosities”. Von MOllendorff probably bought the great majority of the objects from local shopkeepers or craftsmen. The numerous porcelain artifacts reflect the taste of the 2nd half of the 19th century in their form and patterning.
The Hamburg merchant H. C. Eduard Meyer(1841-1926), director of the trading company H. C. Eduard Meyer & Co. with branch offices in Korea Sechang Yanghaeng, was the first Consul General of Korea. As a great admirer of korean culture he collected various kind of Art crafts and donated them to Folklore Museum in Hamburg. More than a third of the collection, namely 949 objects, stem from Eduard Meyer. He donated ten Korean coins, three celadon bowls and a white porcelain dish to the Museum in April 1895. This donation was followed in 1907 by another, much larger one. And in 1908 and 1909 he sold further extensive collections to the museum. An exchange of letters with Meyer gives the impression that he consigned almost his entire stock of Korean artifacts to the museum in this way. Besides paintings, prints, ceramics and some lacquerwork, Meyer had also collected comprehensive examples of Korean folk culture. The palette ranges from textiles via weapons to padlocks, dried medicinal herbs and braided paper cords. Here we find agricultural implements alongside single nails, rank badges and printing dies, toys as well as tools.
The Benedictine Missionary Norbert Weber (1895-1956) was the Archabbot of St. Ottilien monastery. In 1911, Norbert Weber visited Korea to see the first successes of the mission in Korea. In the following four months Abbott Norbert travelled throughout the country, developing a remarkable interest in its history, religion and culture. His detailed account of his travels, which he published under the title Im Lande der Morgenstille (In the Land of the Morning Calm), his sketches, watercolour paintings and photographs all bear witness to his efforts to gain a comprehensive view of an ancient culture which was threatened with the impending loss of its identity under the pressure of modernization. Abbott Norbert had already purchased (art) objects explicitly intended for the Mission Museum in St. Ottilien during his first Korean trip: The inventory book, which unfortunately has gaps, records a total of 65 objects of everyday use, including a number which are remarkable in terms of their art historic significance, as well as garments, given to the Museum by Norbert Weber in 1912.
His second trip in 1924/25 to Korea also took Archabbot Norbert Weber to the centre of Korean Buddhism, the Diamond Mountains. From this derives the title of Weber’s second book In den Diamantbergen Koreas (In the Diamond Mountains of Korea) in 1927, in which he describes his experiences. Once again, the Archabbott used the opportunity to buy objects for the Mission Museum. Most of the high-quality historic works of art were acquired in 1926, including a Buncheong pot, two spoons from the 13th century, two horn bows with quivers from the 19th century and, last two bronze mirrors from the 13th century. In the end Norbert Weber came back to Bavaria from his Korean trip with a veritable treasure trove.