As I've mentioned a lot before, my favorite TV show lately is *Alsselsinjap* (Dictionary of Useless Knowledge). I was really sad when that fun show recently ended. It's been a long time since I've wanted a season two to come out this quickly for a program.
The show brought up a lot of great conversation topics and social issues, but the part that resonated with me the most was when Professor Jeong Jae-seung mentioned, "People tend to visit museums when they go abroad, but rarely visit museums in Korea." When you travel somewhere, fun activities and delicious meals are a given, but visiting the country's museums is also a must. Friends of mine who majored in art or are naturally interested in it visit art galleries in their spare time, but engineering students never do. It's not just an engineering student problem; people outside the art field probably don't go anywhere near museums or galleries. However, like most travelers, including myself, we always visit museums when we go overseas. We go to foreign museums because it's the fastest and easiest way to feel the cultural differences, but still, we really don't visit our own museums enough. Thinking about it, I realized I had never even been to the National Museum of Korea, so I decided to visit with a friend this time. Honestly, I'm unemployed right now, have done everything there is to do, and just needed something fun.
When I arrived at the National Museum of Korea in Ichon-dong (a neighborhood in Seoul), I was surprised by how clean and massive it was. At this level, I feel like it should have gone viral and made it onto some "Top 10 Museums" list, but I was just really oblivious. Just looking at the scale, it's comparable to the Hermitage in Russia. Sure, the building itself might lack historical significance, but the cleanliness and modern feel of a newly constructed building completely make up for that.
Plus, you get to see this unbelievable view of Namsan (Seoul's central mountain).
First, I started with the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, feeling like I was studying history all over again. Oh, by the way, you can view Korean cultural heritage exhibits for free. Even foreigners.
This is the comb-pattern pottery I used to memorize by heart. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the Paleolithic ground stone tools from earlier and regular rocks in a gravel field, so I just walked right past them.This is the most weapon-like weapon here. With the other weapons, I wondered, "Could this actually kill someone?" but this axe definitely looks like it could kill a person or a tiger.
Even while looking at the Paleolithic and Neolithic exhibits, I kept wondering why I was looking at them. They must be precious to academic researchers, but for someone like me just looking for fun, there wasn't much to see. I quickly moved on to the rooms for Gojoseon (the first Korean kingdom) and the eras that followed.
Necklaces, earrings, and other accessories from the Gojoseon era. The necklaces look a lot like the ones I've seen in traditional markets or Southeast Asia.A famous passage from the Records of the Three Kingdoms that made me realize my love for drinking and partying isn't my fault, it's genetics. It brought me a little peace of mind.A Han dynasty bronze mirror found in Daedonggang-myeon, South Pyongan Province. Up until the Neolithic era, you couldn't find any real details, but once you hit Gojoseon and the subsequent Proto-Three Kingdoms period of Nangnang, Buyeo, and Okjeo, incredibly delicate patterns start to appear.Gold belt buckle from Seogam-ri, Pyongyang, National Treasure No. 89. It's a pure gold belt buckle excavated from Tomb No. 9 in Seogam-ri. It's an artifact from the Nangnang period, and it's amazing that they could do such intricate gold smithing back then. Now National Treasures and general treasures are starting to appear, and as expected, gold is treated as a National Treasure over silver.Evidence supporting the claim that Cristiano Ronaldo was Korean in his past life. Hou~
From Gojoseon onwards, treasures start showing up and the detail of the artifacts gets significantly higher. Seeing as there are many artifacts that look like something you'd find in a Chinese market, it seems like an era where there was little cultural difference from China. I moved past Gojoseon to Goguryeo, but there were surprisingly few related artifacts. Perhaps because it's a history written on land we can't currently visit (North Korea and Manchuria), the space and artifacts were lacking compared to Goguryeo's historical status. Feeling a bit bitter, I moved on to Baekje.
Gold Diadem Ornament of King Muryeong, National Treasure No. 154. A 6th-century Baekje (king's) crown ornament. This came from the excavation of King Muryeong's Tomb, which was the absolute worst disaster to happen in the cultural sector among all the terrible things in the 70s. I wonder how much would be different if they hadn't found it then and discovered it now instead.Gold Diadem Ornament of the Queen of King Muryeong, National Treasure No. 155. A 6th-century Baekje (queen's) crown ornament. It definitely has a more modest feel compared to the king's.Gold Necklace of the Queen of King Muryeong, National Treasure No. 158. A gold necklace. I checked Wikipedia and it says they come in a pair; one is at the Gongju National Museum, and the other is here.Patterned Bricks from Oeri, Buyeo - Landscape Patterned Brick, Treasure No. 343. Out of all the patterned bricks, I only photographed the landscape one. The description calls it a "patterned brick." There are eight types of bricks in total.
There are so many artifacts from King Muryeong's Tomb that it makes you wonder what Baekje history would be like if it hadn't been excavated. The excavation of King Muryeong's Tomb is considered the worst excavation in our country's historical circles, and it's the incident that made my Korean history teachers curse Park Chung-hee so much. I can't help but think that if the various tombs stolen by the Japanese and the poorly handled King Muryeong's Tomb had been excavated properly, every other household in our country would have someone working in a museum, and the tourism value would be overwhelming. But well, that's all in the past, and this is all we have left now.
I came to a museum, so why do I keep feeling so bitter? I moved on to Gaya.
This is a recreation of what it looked like to ride a horse in Gaya. The horse is short, like a Japanese horse. I can't tell if this is historically accurate or if it just ended up small when they made it.These are Gaya-era earrings excavated and recovered from places like Goryeong and Hapcheon in North Gyeongsang Province. They are so pretty that I'd want to own them even today, but I'm really curious about how they wore them. How did they put on earrings without needles?
Gaya artifacts are overwhelmingly made of gold. And the craftsmanship is noticeably different from Baekje and the rooms I saw earlier. As expected, gold is the best.
Now I moved to Silla, the kingdom that unified our country. The room size and the number of artifacts are overwhelmingly large.
Gold Crown from the North Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, National Treasure No. 191.Gold Belt from the North Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, National Treasure No. 192. This is the part that wraps around the waist. These two National Treasures are kept in glass cases and receive a particularly flashy spotlight. Unlike the Baekje gold diadem ornaments, this crown and belt are overwhelmingly extravagant.Gold Necklace from Noseo-dong, Gyeongju, Treasure No. 456. It looks like it would have been incredibly scratchy to actually wear around. Seeing as it was excavated from a tomb, it doesn't seem like a necklace made for daily use.Earthenware Vessel in the Shape of a Warrior on Horseback, National Treasure No. 91. This is the National Treasure that decorated the cover of my Korean history textbook when I was in middle or high school. I memorized it as "person riding a horse pottery" just like it says in the museum. Looking at it made me feel like I was back in those days, so I shook my head and moved on. (I could never be a student in Korea again.)Boat-shaped pottery. To quote the museum's description exactly: "The man has large ears, is sticking his tongue out, and has his genitals prominently exposed." His genitals are exposed, and the size is seriously huge!! Silla people are the best!! Silla pride is off the charts!!Gold and Silver Bowls from the North Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, Treasure No. 628. They look like gold, but they're silver. If I had used a different white balance, they probably would have looked like silver, but I wasn't thinking when I took the picture. Maybe I should brand myself as the thoughtless blogger when taking photos.Gold Mounted Cup from the North Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, Treasure No. 626.Silver Cup from the North Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, Treasure No. 627. They set up a mirror so you can see the bottom. Judging by the size of the cup, I imagine they mostly drank low-alcohol liquor. Who knows though, their genital size was beyond imagination too.Gold Bracelets and Rings from the North Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, Treasure No. 623. Now I'm starting to wonder what exactly Hwangnamdaechong Tomb is.Glass Bottle and Cup from the South Mound of Tomb No. 98 in Gyeongju, National Treasure No. 193. Excluding the gold, this was personally the most surprising item among the treasures. If it weren't cracked, it has a design that wouldn't look out of place at all if you told me to use it today. Plus, it's an imported good from the Silla era. It must have been so precious back then that they repaired the chipped glass parts with gold thread. Gold < Glass. I heard somewhere that Silla prospered because it was the final destination of the Silk Road. As expected, you have to buy good land. Land and gold. Let's remember that. Land and gold.Monument on Bukhansan Mountain Commemorating the Border Inspection by King Jinheung of Silla, National Treasure No. 3. This barely visible monument is National Treasure No. 3. They say the numbers on National Treasures don't mean anything, but still, this is just too hard to see. There were a lot of stone monuments outside the building, and I wonder if it wouldn't be better to store those indoors too.Honestly, if the "Great King Jinheung" part in the first sentence had been erased, no one would have ever known.
Since Silla also includes Unified Silla artifacts, it took a long time and there was quite a lot to see. The explanations in between were well done, so I had no trouble understanding the treasures. I came after eating lunch, but by the time I reached Balhae, it was getting hard to keep looking. I needed to sit down and rest, and I also had to see the special exhibition, Roads of Arabia. Since I'm in Seoul where you can go anywhere by subway anyway, I decided I'd just come back another time and started desperately looking for a chair and some water. But when I came out, there were even more artifacts. And with an incredibly majestic presence, too.
Ten-story Stone Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple Site, Gaeseong, National Treasure No. 86. It's a ten-story stone pagoda from the Goryeo Dynasty. It's really tall, making me think it couldn't have been easy to even get these stones. It must have looked cool because a Japanese guy smuggled it out, but it was reportedly returned thanks to a Brit, Bethell, and an American, Homer Hulbert. It's highly unusual that the UK and the US, the masters of smuggling artifacts, helped get it returned. But honestly, if it were me, I would have wanted to keep this pagoda where it originally was, too.Stele for Buddhist Monk Wonrang at Wolgwangsa Temple Site, Jecheon, Treasure No. 360.
I couldn't move anymore, so I sat down with a cola. No matter where you go in the world, the goods and food sold in museums are expensive. I guess that can't be helped, but unusually, the cola at the National Museum of Korea is pretty much retail price. I went in expecting to pay double, so I was surprised by how cheap it was.
Coming to the National Museum for the first time, I noticed a scene you can only see in Korea. There are people holding massive, cannon-like cameras, and parents dragging their kids around against their will. I respected the former, but for the latter, I thought there was really no need to do that. If they get bored later on, they'll figure it out and come see it all on their own anyway. Just like me.
