National Folk Museum of Korea () is a national museum located on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung in

Jongno District upright=1, Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. It is the historic center of Seoul that contains Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and the Blue House, the for ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. It uses replicas of historical objects to illustrate the history of traditional life of the Korean people.

History

The museum's predecessor, the Chōsen Folk Art Museum, was founded in 1924, during Japan's occupation of Korea. The three founders were the Asakawa brothers and Yanagi Sōetsu. The second museum carrying this name established on 8 November 1945 by the U.S. Government and opened on 25 April 1946 at the City Administration Memorial Hall. When the museum was merged with the

National Museum of Korea The National Museum of Korea () is the flagship museum of Korean history and Korean art, art in South Korea. Since its establishment in 1945, the museum has been committed to various studies and research activities in the fields of archaeology ...

, its collection of 4,555 artifacts was moved to the latter's Namsan site. In 1975, when the National Museum moved onto the grounds of Gyeongbokgung, it moved along with it into the Modern Art Museum Building. In 1993 it opened in its present site, which was the former site of the National Museum of Korea. The building's design is based on various historical buildings around South Korea.

Collection

The museum has over 98,000 artifacts and three main exhibition halls: "History of Korean People" features materials of everyday life in Korea from prehistoric times to the end of the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

period in 1910; "Korean Way of Life", which illustrates Korean villagers in ancient times; and "Life Cycle of the Koreans", which depicts the deep roots of Confucianism in Korean culture and how this ideology gave rise to most of the culture's customs. The museum also features open-air exhibits, such as replicas of spirit posts where villagers used to pray, stone piles for worship, grinding mills, rice storage shelters and pits for ''

kimchi Kimchi (; ) is a traditional Korean side dish (''banchan'') consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

'' pots. In March 2021, the National Folk Museum reopened an exhibition showcasing 20th century items from both the Joseon era as well as items from modern and contemporary Korea. The items are on display in Permanent Exhibition Hall 2, which reopened March 20, 2021, after undergoing renovation.

Gallery

File:Children's Museum of the National Folk Museum of Korea in April 2025.jpg, entrance to the Children's Museum File:Interior of a traditional Korean house.JPG, Interior of a traditional Korean house File:Korean clothing-Hanbok-Joseon period-02.jpg, Hanbok collection File:Seoul-folk.museum-totem.pole-01.jpg, Jangseung collection File:감실1.jpg, Family altar File:FarmingdisplayNationalfolkmuseum.JPG, Diorama of traditional farming File:Diorama of a Wedding in the National Folk Museum of Korea.jpg, Traditional wedding ceremony File:Diorama of a Sixtieth Birthday Party in the National Folk Museum of Korea.jpg, A birthday party File:Seoul 2017 54 National Folk Museum.JPG, Samyang white sugar and the company's slogan File:Seoul 2017 55 National Folk Museum.JPG, Mockup for a merchant ship built by Hyundai, and the company's magazines File:Seoul 2017 50 National Folk Museum.JPG, An award banner for sport game File:Seoul 2017 59 National Folk Museum Inaguration of Swings Baseball Team Costume.jpg, Equipments of a South Korean baseball club

Operating hours

The hours of operation are from 09:00 to 18:00, March to October, and 09:00 to 17:00, November to February. Also, it offer extended evening hours from 09:00 to 20:00 on Saturdays between March and October, with no extended hours from November to February. Additionally, every last Wednesday of the month is Culture Day.

References

External links