The Simone Handbag Museum in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, is a museum dedicated to
handbags.
300 bags are on display at the museum, dating from 1550 to the present day.
The museum is divided into two halves, Twentieth Century and Contemporary, and Historic (1500–1900).
The museum opened on 19 July 2012 in Seoul's
Gangnam District
Gangnam District ( ; , ) is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam translates to "South of the (Han) River". Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul, with an area of . A ...
, in a building resembling a handbag. The collection was established by
Kenny Park
Kenny Park, also known as Park Eun-kwan, is a South Korean businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Simone Accessory, a handbag and accessories manufacturer.
Early life
In 1978, Park earned a degree in German and literature from Yonsei Univers ...
, founder and CEO of Simone Handbags, and was assembled and curated by Judith Clark, Professor of Fashion and Museology at the
London College of Fashion.
The collection was assembled at a cost of £1 million.
Most of the handbags are European in origin, with some contemporary bags from the United States. Bespoke mannequins at the museum have been designed to draw the visitors' attention to the bags on display. Two of the mannequins were designed by the milliner
Stephen Jones.
The museum is housed in a 10-story building called Bagstage.
Bagstage also incorporates a shop selling bag materials, workshops where new Korean designers can work rent-free, a section where craftsmen will produce bags and two shops.
See also
*
ESSE Purse Museum
The ESSE Purse Museum is a museum located in Little Rock, Arkansas featuring women's handbags, and the day-to-day items carried in them, illustrating the stories of American women's lives during the 1900s.David Monteith: "Little Rock Purse Museum ...
in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
*
Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam
*
Handbag collecting
References
* Judith Clark: ''Handbags: The Making of a Museum'', 2012,
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Univer ...
,
External links
Official site
{{Coord, 37.5228, 127.0253, type:landmark_region:KR, display=title
Fashion museums in South Korea
2012 establishments in South Korea
Museums established in 2012
Museums in Seoul
Bags (fashion)