Kenneth E. Harker
2008 Korea - National Museum of Korea

On our second day in Korea, we spent the morning visiting the National Museum of Korea. The museum was opened in 1945, and for many years was located in a building at Gyeongbokgung Palace. The museum moved to its current facility in October, 2005, and is now the largest museum in Asia, and the sixth largest in the world. It features the largest collection in the world of Korean historical artifacts and artwork. Some of the collection includes art from other countries, especially Buddhist art from central Asia and India. While we were there, the museum had a travelling exhibition of Persian gold artwork that we did not see. Photography was not permitted inside the exhibits.

These photos are copyright © 2008 Kenneth E. Harker. All rights reserved.

	The main pedestrian promenade from Seobinggoro. You can see a yellow stripe down the center of the walkway - it is composed of hard rubber bumps. We saw these all over Seoul, especially in the subways. I presume they are there as an aid to navigation for the blind.
	The design of the building is modern, but is supposed to have been inspired from the general shape of a Korean fortress. The land on which the museum was built was once the golf course for the nearby Yongsan Garrison, a U.S. Army facility that houses the headquarters for United States Forces Korea. Yongsan Garrison is scheduled for relocation outside of Seoul in 2012 or 2013, at which point the remainder of the land will be transfered to the city of Seoul.
	A large pond sits in front of the main exhbition hall. The portion of the building to the right of the large opening contained the museum's permanent collection. The portion to the left had several restaurants and gift shops and the exhibition space for visiting collections.
	The atrium inside the main building housing the museum's permanent collection. The first floor was historical artifacts, the second floor was paintings and calligraphies and some special collections, and the third floor was ceramics and sculptures, including some Buddhist art from central and south Asia. In the distance, you can see the Gyeongcheonsa Pagoda, a ten-story stone pagoda that was carved from marble in 1348.
	Looking south from the top of the steps between the two parts of the museum building, these high-rise apartment buildings are directly across the street from the museum property.