Museum sights in South Korea
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Seodaemun Prison
The prison, built in 1908, is a symbol of Japanese cruelty and oppression during their colonial rule of Korea from 1910 until 1945. The main hall has three floors of exhibitions, including lifelike re-creations of torture scenes in the nightmarish interrogation cells in the basement. Photographs of the prison and prison conditions are on view along with video footage. Not everything is translated into English.
Visitors can look around and go inside the original prison cell blocks where the independence fighters were held. Built to house 500 prisoners, up to 3500 were packed inside during the height of the anti-Japanese protests in 1919. There was no heating and the food…
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War Memorial & Museum
This huge museum documents the history of warfare in Korea and has an especially good section on the Korean War (1950–53). It takes at least three hours to browse the whole place, so arrive before 3pm. Only snacks are available. Don’t try to cover this museum and the National Museum of Korea in one day.
On the 1st floor are paintings and panoramic displays illustrating many fierce battles fought against invading Mongol, Japanese and Chinese armies. Many items are only vaguely dated, but there is a replica of one of Admiral Sun-sin’s famous iron-clad turtle warships (called geobukseon ), which he used to defeat the Japanese navy in the 1590s.
Upstairs, visitors can…
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National Museum of Korea
The grand, marble-lined, modernist building cleverly channels plenty of natural light to show off Korea’s ancient treasures. The gardens on the right of the reflecting pond, with ancient stone pagodas, the original Bosingak bell and Dragon Falls – perhaps the most picturesque spot in Seoul – are worth a visit.
Pick up a ticket from the office in the left-side section, which also houses the Yong Theatre, special exhibitions and the children’s section. Enter the huge atrium foyer and work your way down the right-hand side, passing through the various ruling dynasties, from simple comb-design pots and dolmens to the skilful and imaginative Baekje-era incense holder…
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Namsangol Hanok Village
Five differing yangban stone, wood and tile houses from the Joseon era have been moved here from different parts of Seoul. The architecture and furniture are austere and plain, and conjure up the lost world of Confucian gentlemen scholars, who wielded calligraphy brushes rather than swords. Scenes from the movie Untold Scandal, a 2003 Korean take on Dangerous Liaisons, were filmed here. Weavers, cooks, calligraphers and kite-makers can be spotted at the weekend, while rice-wine brewing and traditional music take place some evenings. At Chuseok (Harvest Festival) half of Seoul squashes in here for the traditional performances and festival atmosphere. At the time of…
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Kimchi Museum
The small Kimchi Museum, located at COEX Mall, sings the praises of pickled, peppery cabbage and its wondrous health benefits. The museum is almost impossible to find – go down the steps near the 7-Eleven convenience store.
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Deoksugung
Originally an aristocratic villa, Deoksugung became a palace in 1593 when King Seonjo moved in after all of Seoul’s other palaces were destroyed during the Japanese invasion. Despite two kings being crowned here, it became a secondary palace from 1615 until 1897 when King Gojong moved in after leaving the nearby Russian legation.
Although he was forced by the Japanese to abdicate 10 years later, Gojong carried on living here in some style until he died in 1919. His son, Sunjong, reigned as a puppet emperor until 1910 when he too was forced to abdicate by the Japanese, who then annexed Korea, bringing the Joseon dynasty to an undignified and abrupt end after more than…
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Jeoldusan Martyrs Museum & Chapel
Jeoldusan means ‘Beheading Hill’ – this is where up to 2000 Korean Catholics were executed in 1866 following a decree, signed by Regent Heungseon Daewongun (King Gojong’s father), to kill all Catholics. The victims’ bodies were thrown into the nearby Han River, and only 40 of their names are known. The museum has books, diaries and relics of the early Catholic converts, some of whom were martyred and became saints. The displays have English descriptions. Downstairs are mementoes of Pope John Paul II’s visit here in 1984. Steadfast early Christian converts faced waves of government persecution, but they refused to recant their new faith. Inside Catholic churches,…
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Hongneung Arboretum & Surrounds
Winding footpaths turn this 38-hectare arboretum, established in 1922 and packed with many varieties of trees and plants, into a pleasant maze that is popular with dating couples, nature lovers and keen photographers. It is only open on Sunday and picnics are not allowed. On the right is the Forestry Museum which has an original design containing exhibits on native trees and their uses, but little English description.
From the subway exit take the first road on the right (Hoegiro), walk under the expressway and 600m from the subway exit is the Arboretum entrance on the left facing Hongneunggil.
Opposite the arboretum entrance is the rather neglected King Sejong Memorial…
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National Folk Museum
The National Folk Museum takes at least an hour to walk around. This major museum, built in 1939, has modern displays divided into three large sections and uses models, varied film techniques, photos of Korea now and a century ago, and apartment mock-ups to illustrate social life during the ages. Listen to yangban children rote learning (as children still do) and watch a shamanist ceremony called a gut. See an amazingly colourful funeral bier (it looks like a fantasy Noah’s Ark) – these were used to give the deceased a great send-off. Screened on the wall above is footage of these old-style funerals. The Confucian notion of filial piety was tough. Children had to mourn…
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Central Buddhist Museum
The new Central Buddhist Museum has three galleries of antique woodblocks, symbol-filled paintings and other Buddhist artefacts. In one corner is a teashop, Namu (732 5292; teas W3000-5000; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat). In another corner is the Information Centre for Foreigners (732 5292; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat), staffed by English-speaking Buddhist guides. Making lanterns and prayer beads, doing woodblock printing, painting and drinking green tea are usually possible. The activities are free but donations are welcome. Ask about having a meditation lesson and a four-bowl Buddhist monk meal (W30,000). A temple stay can also be arranged.
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Gwangju Art Museum
The Gwangju Art Museum, part of an ugly art plaza with concert and performance halls, displays highlights from the avant-garde Gwangju Biennale. Thought-provoking exhibits could include a portrait of the back of someone's head, a cow made of leather or a landscape inside a suitcase.
Take bus 23 (around ₩900, 10 minutes, every 15 minutes) from outside the bus terminal, and get off at the Gwangju Art Museum stop (Munhwa Yesul Hoegwan), a 15-minute walk from Gwangju National Museum. Bus 50 (around ₩900, 20 minutes, every 30 minutes) runs from the train station to the Folk Museum or bus 55 runs from Geumnamno to the National Museum.
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Gwangju Folk Museum
From the Gwangju National Museum take a 15-minute walk through a tunnel under the expressway to Gwangju Folk Museum. It uses dioramas, models, sound effects, videos and more to show off Jeollanam-do's traditional culture, from music to medicine, from toys to armour. Historical photographs at the end reveal how quickly Koreans have morphed from feudal farmers to 21st century whiz kids.
Around the Folk Museum is a pleasant park that contains the Biennale Exhibition Hall. Walk back down through the park to the Gwangju Art Museum and the bus stop.
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Sejong University Museum
Sejong has a superb collection, especially the hanbok display, which takes up an entire floor and includes outstanding royal clothing. Rarely visited, the museum should be more popular – the furniture arranged into rooms, the wooden, leather and silk shoes worn by the different social classes present vivid images of Korea’s feudal past. A poem displayed at the museum praises it as ‘a place of wisdom, beauty and virtue’ where visitors can ‘listen to the thousand-year-old ancestors whispering quietly’.
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Museum of Korean Embroidery
A tiny one-room museum with painstaking examples of a neglected and unheralded female craft and embroidery books to browse. In the good old days nearly everything was embroidered – clothes, shoes, boxes, pillow-ends, screens, pin cushions, toys and thimbles. Delicate patchwork pojagi (wrapping cloths) had many uses and some were made out of silk or ramie (cloth made from pounded bark). From the subway exit turn left and then take the second alley on the right.
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Mokin Museum
Mokin are carved and painted wooden figures and decorative motifs that were used to decorate sangyeo (funeral carriages). Carved by humble village craftsmen, they are a unique folk art drenched in Buddhist and shamanist beliefs. Carved flowers represent wealth and yearning for a perfect world, while birds represent messengers from this world to the next, fish symbolise life and learning (as they never close their eyes), and tigers and goblins scare evil spirits away.
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National Palace Museum
The new National Palace Museum has royal artefacts that highlight the wonderful artistic skills of the Joseon era – royal seals, illustrations of court ceremonies, and the gold-embroidered hanbok (traditional clothing) and exquisite hairpins worn by the queens and princesses – but very little English signage. Note this museum closes on a different day to the palace and that a small admission charge of W2000 may be reintroduced.
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Museum of Korean Traditional Music
Next door to the Seoul Arts Centre, the National Centre for Korean Traditional Performing Arts (www.ncktpa.go.kr) is home to this museum, where visitors can see and listen to traditional Korean musical instruments that are rarely heard today. The eo is shaped like a tiger and played by banging its head with a stick and then running the stick over the notches on its back. Check the NCKTPA website for music lessons for foreigners.
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Folklore & Natural History Museum
This wide-ranging ecomuseum in Sinsan Park has well-labelled exhibits on Jejudo's varied volcanic features including volcanic bombs, lava tubes and trace fossils. Fortunately the volcanoes have all been dormant for the last 1000 years, although earthquakes were felt in the 16th century. Other highlights to look out for are excellent wildlife films, the bizarre oar fish and panoramas of the island's six ecological zones.
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Agriculture Museum
A new museum that has imaginative displays such as glass floors, a mock-up of a painted tomb, and a traditional village complete with voices. It’s a worthy effort but has no chance of persuading the young generation that farming is fun, so the outlook for the industry is bleak despite the upbeat tone of the museum. Few Koreans want to be a farmer – or a farmer’s wife.
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Gwangju National Museum
The highlight of the Gwangju National Museum to the north of the city is its fine collection of perfectly preserved Chinese ceramics that were discovered in 1975 inside a 14th-century shipwreck. The display ranges from elegant, classical vases to homey mortars and pestles. Other galleries show Joseon and Buddhist art, two Korean art genres neglected by Western art critics.
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Bank of Korea Museum
The granite, chateaulike Bank of Korea, built in 1912, is an outstanding example of Japanese colonial architecture both inside and outside. The exhibits here include fascinating old coins such as knife money, WWI pottery coins, seashell money from Yap Island and Korean coins dating back 2000 years. Upstairs there are specimen notes from around the world.
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Incheon Landing Memorial Monument Hall
The Incheon Landing Memorial Monument Hall is in Songdo. Old newsreel films of the Korean War reveal the ugly reality of modern warfare. Sixteen countries sent troops or medical units to help South Korea, and 70,000 UN and South Korean troops took part in the surprise landing in Incheon in 1950, supported by 260 warships.
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Busan Metropolitan Art Museum
Busan frowns upon bourgeois pursuits like art and urban design, so it isn't surprising that the arts scene is, well, lacking. The Busan Metropolitan Art Museum is hardly a must-see but it does come in handy during typhoon season when you need a place to escape the rain. Line 2 to Metro Art Museum station, Exit 5, and walk 150m.
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Daegu National Museum
This museum houses a fine collection of pottery, Buddhist icons and dioramas showing local history. The English-language signage is quite good. The museum is well served by bus lines. From central Daegu take bus 242 or 427 to Daegu National Museum and from Dongdaegu station take bus 814 or 514.
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National Jeju Museum
This museum is housed in a large, inconveniently located building. It's a clone of the many other local museums dotted around the country but antiques addicts can get their fix here. Many city buses stop outside, including bus 26 (around ₩850, every 15 minutes).
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