Day 17: National Museum of Korea

By this time in my trip, I had seen most of what I wanted to see in Seoul and the places that were left on my itinerary were mostly museums. I had several museums down on my itinerary but deliberately chose to visit them last because in Tokyo, I learned that I would much prefer walking around the city or riding the subways than walking around in a museum. There’s no substitute for the organic and lively experience of being around the people in the city and being able to feel it’s pulse. Museum’s have their merits, albeit more static and historic in nature, so I guess it all depends on personal preference. Some people find museums boring while others could spend an entire day looking around and still not get enough. I probably fall somewhere towards the former unless what’s being showcased interests me.

Between the 3 museums I had down, the National Museum of Korea, the War Memorial and Museum and the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, I ended of choosing the National Museum of Korea. Looking back, I’m not sure why I made that choice considering I like various themes surrounding war and a lot of my favourite books and movies are on war. I read that a lot of money was invested into the National Museum of Korea and a part of me wanted to get in touch with my ancient ancestry and see real life artifacts I’ve only been able to see in 사극 dramas (historical dramas) so I think that’s what swayed me. It was my intention to visit the War Museum also in the remaining days but it turns out I never got to.

I got off at Ichon Station on Line 4 and the museum was located a short walk East. I recommend entering the museum through the main entrance off the main street as the walk up sets a grandiose tone for museum. The lead up to the museum is an open square of tile and concrete, adorned with large pillars giving off the feeling of old world tradition crossed with modern day material and design.

There is a large pond with a pavilion located right in front and the museum is located at an elevated height just beyond that. I didn’t take too many pictures on this day as I found myself (as I had mentioned in a prior post) taking more short videos instead. Here are some of the pictures of the surround area though including the flowerbed lining the edge of the pond…

…and heading up towards the museum looking back at the pavilion on the pond out front.

When I got to the entrance of the museum, it was populated with many school kids in uniform grouped in formation with their respective classes waiting to get in. The majority of the patrons inside the museum were indeed school kids on a class trip. Many of them had assignment papers in hand and were busy locating things throughout the museum that would allow them to fill out their papers with answers. I initially entered the museum and was ready to get started with my walk around but I thought that it would be better to find something to eat first and not have to worry about touring the place on an empty stomach. As admission to the museum was free, I was free to enter and exit as I pleased. The museum has a few places to eat inside including a couple of cafes, a cafeteria and a sit down Korean restaurant. I went to the Korean restaurant but it was very busy at this time with a lineup to get in so I left in search of something else which brought me back outside of the museum. There’s a sit down restaurant outside in front of the museum near the pond but that didn’t interest me too much so I just kept walking and found myself east of the museum. There was an old style structure that housed a large bell and further east was the start to a large neighbouring park.

I sort of just carried on east and walked throughout much of the park and it’s trails forgetting that I was in search of lunch. I came across many elementary school classes having picnics at the park. One of the things I really liked about many of the sights in Korea is the way they used the surrounding areas to shelter you from the rest of the city whether it be by having the main attraction located deep into the land or by encapsulating the area with trees around the perimeters.

When I made my way back to the museum and the Korean restaurant, I was starving. The restaurant was still busy but there was no longer a line up to get in. I reluctantly ordered the yukgaejang, not because I wanted to but because it was one of only 2 menu items they had left in stock and could cook!!! I first ordered the bibimbap and then the waitress came back saying there were only 2 things on the menu I could order, the other one being a seafood dish I was allergic to. I wish they had told me before I actually got seated and served. Grrrr…I was very tempted to leave. If you are coming here for lunch, make sure you get here early. Yukgaejang is a spicy and messy looking soup dish with beef and other vegetables and it’s a little too hardcore for my tastes so I picked over it and quickly left unsatisfied.

When I read that millions of dollars were poured into creating the National Museum of Korea, they weren’t kidding. The place really felt like they spared no expense starting with the white marble interior that runs throughout the museum. The production value and presentation on display here are second to none. There are 3 floors to the museum and it is well laid out taking you through a history lesson of Korea, back before it became one nation and back before the times of the 3 Kingdoms of Baekje, Shilla and Goguryeo. There were a couple of items on display in the main hall including this 3 story tall pagoda.

In addition to the Museum’s collection, there are also private collections which have been donated on display and collections from other countries, namely China and India from what I saw. The items on display varied from those that belonged to royalty to every day items that were used by commoners. The country’s history in Buddhism had a presence with it’s own section of Buddhist sculptures, murals and statues. While following the history of Korea’s formation through the various artifacts, I was able to recognize names such as Dae Joyong, Kim Yushin and Queen Seonduk from various historical Korean dramas I watched. Here’s a headpiece fit only for a Queen.

Here are a collection of videos I put together showing the exterior, interior and some of the items that can be found on display at the National Museum of Korea. Enjoy!