National Museum of Korea
| National Museum of Korea | ||||||||
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 The exterior of the National Museum of Korea (West wing). | ||||||||
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The National Museum of Korea, the flagship museum of Korean history and art in South Korea, represents Korea culturally. Established in 1945, the museum opened in a new building in Yongsan Family Park in Seoul, October 2005. The museum's collection holds over 150,000 pieces with 11,000 on display at one time. The largest museum in Asia, and the sixth-largest museum in the world in terms of floor space, The National Museum covers 307,227 square feet.
Measures to protect the treasures inside the museum include engineering the building to withstand a magnitude 6.0 Richter Scale earthquake. The display cases for artifacts have been equipped with seismic-protective platforms to absorb shocks and trembles. A imported natural lighting system utilizes sunlight instead of artificial lights and an air purification system has been designed to protect the art and artifacts of the museum. The museum has been made with fire resistant materials.
To design the new building, the Korean government held an international competition open to architects around the world to submit a proposal for the new building. Architects from fifty nine countries submitted 854 entries . Chang-Il Kim of Junglim Architects & Engineers Ltd. submitted the winning design, inspired by the idea of a traditional Korean fortress. Oblong in shape, the building looks like a Korean fortress. 404 meters in length, and six-stories in height, indigenous plants and gardens surround the building.
History
Emperor Sunjong established Korea's first museum, the Imperial Household Museum, in 1908 C.E. in the waning days of the Joseon Dynasty. The collection of the Imperial Household Museum at Changgyeonggung and the later Japanese Government General Museum, during the Japanese rule of Korea, became the nucleus of the National Museum's collection established when South Korea gained independence in 1945 C.E. During the Korean War, the government safely moved the 20,000 of the museum's pieces to Busan to avoid destruction. When the artifacts came back to Seoul after the war, curators housed them in Gyeongbokgung and Deoksugung Palace. In 1972, the museum moved again to a new building on the grounds of the Gyeonbokgung palace. In 1986, the museum moved again in 1986 to the Jungangcheong, the former Japanese General Government Building, which housed the museum until demolition in 1995.
Layout of the Museum
The museum has three floors. Symbolically, the left of the museum represents the past while the right side of the museum represents the future.
The first floor contains the Archaeological Gallery containing approximately 4,500 artifacts from the Paleolithic to the Balhae era. Ten exhibition rooms comprise the gallery: the Paleolithic Room, Neolithic Room, Bronze Age & Early Iron Age Room, Proto Three Kingdoms Room, Goguryeo Room, Baekje Room, Gaya Room, Silla Room, Unified Silla Room, and Balhae Room. The Neolithic and Bronze Age Rooms present information about and artifacts from important prehistoric sites and settlements such the Bangudae Petroglyphs and Songgung-ni.
The Historical Gallery, containing recorded and historical documents such as Hangul inscriptions, maps, and other valuable documents resides on the first floor. The Historical Gallery has nine rooms: the Hangeul Room, Prints Room, Inscriptions Room, Documents Room, Map Room, King and His Reign Room, Socio-economic Life Room, Traditional Thoughts Room, and Foreign Relations Room.
The second floor contains the Fine Arts Gallery I and the Donation Gallery hosting the Painting Room, Calligraphy Room, Buddhist Paintings Room, and Wooden Craft Room. The Fine Arts Gallery I contains 890 pieces of art in four rooms that explore the traditional and religious arts of Korea in line and color.
The Donation Gallery holds 1000 pieces of art from a wide variety of cultures donated from the private collections of collectors. The Donation Gallery hosts the following rooms: the Lee Hong-kun Collection Room, Other Collections Room, Kim Chong-hak Collection Room, Yu Kang-yul Collection Room, Park Young-sook Collection Room, Choi Young-do Collection Room, Park Byong-rae Collection Room, Yoo Chang-jong Collection Room, Kaneko Kazushige Collection Room, Hachiuma Tadasu Collection Room, and Luchi Isao Collection Room.
The third floor houses the Fine Arts Gallery II, containing 630 pieces that represent Korean Buddhist sculpture and craftwork. Highlights of the gallery include Goryeo Celadon wares and National Treasure of Korea No. 83, the world-renowned Bangasayusang (or meditating Maiterya). The gallery has five rooms: Metal Arts Room, Celadon Room, Buncheong Ware Room, White Porcelain Room, and Buddhist Sculpture Room.
Finally, also on the third floor, the Asian Arts Gallery contains 970 pieces exploring the similarities and divergences of Asian Art as well as the confluence of Asian and Western art via the Silk Road. Six rooms make up the gallery: Indonesian Art Room, Central Asian Art Room, Chinese Art Room, Relics from Sinan Seabed Room, Nangnang Remains Room, and Japanese Art Room.
The grounds of the museum contain parks, gardens of indigenous plants, waterfalls and pools, a collection of pagodas and other outdoor Korean art.
Treasures from Pyongyang Exhibit
Ninety significant cultural artifacts displayed at the National Museum of Korea loaned by the Korean Central History Museum in Pyongyang until August 16, 2006, then moved to the Taegu National Museum from August 28 to October 26, 2006.[1] North and South curators designed the exhibit to engender other cultural property exchanges between the two Koreas. Noteworthy among the collection: a bird bone flute from 2000 B.C.E., the oldest extant musical instrument from Korea. [2]. A bronze statue of Wang Geon, the first king of the Goryeo Dynasty tops the list for important items exhibted. Standing 138.3 centimeter in height, archeologist excavated the statue in 1992 at his mausoleum in Kaesong. believed originally dressed in royal clothes, the statue's clothing has disappeared. North Korea loaned famous paintings from the Joseon Dynasty for the exhibit.
Gallery
National Treasure No.83 is one of the most popular works at the museum and is the most highly insured.
The main lobby of the National Museum of Korea.
Joseon Dynasty vase.
A replica of the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje is on display at the museum
Pottery from the Korean Neolithic at the National Museum of Korea.
Duck-shaped pottery at the National Museum of Korea.
A display of pottery at the National Museum of Korea
Buddha on Display at the National Museum
Historical Map in National Museum
Asian Statues in National Museum
Farming Tools Display
How to Visit
- Metro Line 4 and Yongsan-Deokso Line, Ichon Station (Exit 2,1)
- Rapid bus (red) : 9502 get off at Ichon Station
- Branch bus (green) : 0211 get off at Ichon Station
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of museums
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
http://news.sawf.org/Travel/3572.aspx
http://www.korea-is-one.org/article.php3?id_article=2415
External links
- National Museum of Korea. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
- Life in Korea, Korea Travel Guide. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
- UIA, The National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
- Korean National Heritage Online, National Museum of Korea. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
- Yonhap News (keep hitting reload until the article shows).
- Korea Times (Images of some of the items from North Korea).
- Archaeology News, National Museum Poised to Open in New Home. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
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