National Museum of Korea
Korea’s flagship museum of history and art, set in parkland in Yongsan.
The National Museum of Korea is the country's principal museum of history and art. Its origins lie in earlier royal and state collections, and the institution in its present form dates from 1945. After occupying several buildings in central Seoul, it moved in October 2005 to a purpose-built home in Yongsan Family Park, where it sits among gardens, ponds and walking paths close to the Han River and a short walk from Ichon subway station.
The building was designed by Chang-Il Kim of Junglim Architecture, whose entry won an international competition. Its long, low form, stretching about 404 metres, draws on the idea of a traditional Korean fortress. A broad open-air plaza divides the structure, framing views towards Namsan, while inside a tall central hall known as the Road of History runs the length of the museum and contains the ten-storey stone pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple site.
The permanent galleries hold several hundred thousand objects and are arranged across three floors, covering prehistory and ancient history, the Goryeo and Joseon periods, calligraphy and painting, donated collections, sculpture and crafts, and world cultures. The Room of Quiet Contemplation displays two gilt-bronze pensive bodhisattvas. The complex also includes special exhibition galleries, a children's museum, a theatre and the separate National Hangeul Museum nearby.
Highlights
- Fortress-inspired building by Chang-Il Kim, around 404 metres long
- Ten-storey Gyeongcheonsa Temple pagoda in the Road of History hall
- Room of Quiet Contemplation with two gilt-bronze pensive bodhisattvas
- Celadon, buncheong ware and white porcelain in the ceramics galleries
- Landscaped grounds with ponds and outdoor stone monuments in Yongsan Family Park
![[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]title QS:P1476,en:"[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]"label QS:Len,"[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]"](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Felice_Beato_%28British%2C_born_Italy_-_%28King_Thibaw_Min%27s_Throne_Room_-_Mandalay%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/500px-Felice_Beato_%28British%2C_born_Italy_-_%28King_Thibaw_Min%27s_Throne_Room_-_Mandalay%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
