National Museum of Korea

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Until October 2004, the National Museum of Korea was located in the Seokjojeon building in Gyeongbok Palace, in the former Imperial Household Museum. It re-opened in October 2005 in a new building within Yongsan Family Park. The new museum boasts a large 14,857-pyeong(* 1pyeong = 3.3sqm) building on 92,936 pyeong of land. The imported natural lighting system and air pollution observation system for the preservation of cultural properties creates a pleasant environment for visitors.

Inside the museum, benches and resting spaces have been installed in many palaces for tired visitors, also there are food court, cultural products stores, coffee shop, and restaurants. Since the size of museum is so huge and the number of relics is so many, we recommend renting an audio/visual guide (audio guide 1,000 won / video guide 3,000 won) that uses a PDA/MP3 player for better understanding. We also recommend renting the audio/visual guide through the museum's web site (currently only available through the Korean version) a day before your visit since the quantities are limited.

[Exibition Hall Guide]
<< 1st floor >>

Archaeological Gallery: visitors can view the unique characteristics of Korean culture based on the origin of Korea's culture and its path of each eras through characteristic relics. About 4,500 relics covering the Paleolithic to Balhae eras are displayed in 10 exhibition rooms: 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.

Historical Gallery: From Hangeul and Inscriptions, valuable Inscriptions, documents, maps are displaced and can view phases of time and culture of Korea at a glance. About 2,800 relics of various recorded and historical documents are displayed in 9 exhibition rooms: Hangeul Room, Prints Room, Inscriptions Room, Documents Room, Map Room, King and His Reign Room, Socio-economic Life Room,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.

<< 2nd floor >>

Fine Arts Gallery I: This is the place to appreciate the beauty of Korean traditional and religious arts expressed with lines and color. About 890 pieces are displayed in 4 exhibition rooms. Especially, a 9-meter Buddhist painting for outdoor rituals can be viewed in the Painting Room. Other rooms include the Calligraphy Room, Buddhist Paintings Room, and Wooden Craft Room.

Donation Gallery: Visitors can view about 1,000 pieces donated by contributors from their private collections. Visitors can appreciate not only Korea, but also other cultures in 11 exhibition rooms: 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.

<< 3rd floor >>

Fine Arts Gallery II: This is the place to appreciate the essence of Korean Buddhist sculpture and craftwork. About 630 pieces of work are displayed in 5 exhibition rooms. Especially, visitors can view the excellent Buddhist statues and the essence of Korean celadon culture including National Treasure 83, Bangasayusang (statue of sitting and thinking Buddha), which is one of the world masterpieces. Exhibition rooms include the Metal Arts Room, Celadon Room, Buncheong Ware Room, White Porcelain Room, and Buddhist Sculpture Room.

Asian Arts Gallery: Here visitors can understand the similarities and varieties of Asian cultures. The unique Silk Road culture, which formed with merging Eastern and Western cultures, can be viewed in the Central Asian Room. About 970 pieces of work are displayed in 6 exhibition rooms: Indonesian Art Room, Central Asian Art Room, Chinese Art Room, Relics from Sinan Seabed Room, Nangnang Remains Room, and Japanese Art Room

Admission:

Who & Where	Individual	Group (20 or more)	Free Admission
Adults (Ages 19 to 64)	2,000 Won	1,500 Won	Under 6 years old, Over 65 years old
Youth (Ages 7 to 18)	1,000 Won	500 Won
* Children's Museum	500 Won	500 Won

* Free Admission through December 31, 2005.
* Free admission does not mean that you can enter without submitting a 'free admission ticket'. To provide safety and order for all visitors each person will need to request a 'free admission ticket' from the ticket booth prior to entering the museum.

Hours: Weekdays - 09:00 ~ 18:00; Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays: 09:00 ~ 19:00
*The National Museum of Korea is closed each January 1st and every Monday.
*Admission is free on the fourth Saturday of each month from 2006.

Directions: 150 meters towards Yongsan Family Park at Ichon Station (subway lines 1 and 4), exit 2, 5 minutes by walking

For more pictures, please see page 2.