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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 a day before your visit since the quantities are limited.


[Exibition Hall Guide]
<< 1st floor >>
Prehistory and Ancient History 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 the ancient Three Kingdoms period are displayed in 9 exhibition rooms: Paleolithic Room, Neolithic Room, Bronze Age Room, Gojoseon Room, Buyeo.Samhan Room, Goguryeo Room, Baekje Room, Gaya Room, and Silla Room.

Medieval and Early Modern History Gallery: Cultural and historical heritages throughout the period of the Unified Silla, Balhae, Goryeo, and Joseon periods are displayed in 7 exhibition rooms: Unified Silla Room, Balhae Room, Goryeo Room, The King and His Reign Room, Socio-Economic Life Room, Prints.Maps Room, and Foreign Relations Room.

<< 2nd floor >>
Calligraphy and Painting Gallery: 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 Paintings Room. Other rooms include the Calligraphy Room, Buddhist Paintings Room, and Wooden and Lacquer Crafts Room.

Donations Gallery: Visitors can view about 800 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 Byoung-rae Collection Room, Yoo Chang-jong Collection Room, Kaneko Kazushige Collection Room, Hachiuma Tadasu Collection Room, and Iuchi Isao Collection Room.

<< 3rd floor >>
Sculpture and Crafts Gallery: 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.

Asia 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 5 exhibition rooms: Indian & Southeast Asian Art Room, Central Asian Art Room, Chinese Art Room, Sinan Undersea Relics Room, and Japanese Art Room.


Admission:
Free to the Permanent Exhibition and the Children's Museum.
* Special exhibitions are charged separately.

Hours:
- Permanent Exhibition: Tue / Thu / Fri 9am-6pm Wed / Sat 9am-9pm Sun / holidays 9am-7pm
- Children's Museum: Tue-Sun / holidays 9am-6pm (every 1hr 30min admission, total 6 sessions, max 200 admission per session), *Last Wed of each month: 9am-9pm

*The National Museum of Korea is closed each January 1st and every Monday.

Directions:
- 150 meters towards Yongsan Family Park at Ichon Station (subway lines 4 or Jungang), exit 2, 5 minutes by walking
- Green bus 0018 / Blue bus 502 / Seoul City Tour bus: Stop on National Museum of Korea

For more pictures, please see page 2.
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