Seoul Museum of History

We had a free weekday, which also happened to be a rainy day, so we decided to try a new indoor museum. We pulled out our umbrellas, jumped on the subway, and headed to the Seoul Museum of History for the afternoon. It’s located just west of Gwanghwamun Square and sits right next to the Gyeonghuigung Palace. There is a large trolley car out front and a huge moving sculpture across the street.

On the grounds outside the lobby you will see large chucks of what was the previous Gwanghwamun Gate, as well as relics from other demolished buildings, and a map-shaped splash fountain.

Stone Stele from Joseon period, unearthed near Mapo

splash fountain map

The building, as with many others in Seoul, was decked out for the holiday. There was a large Christmas tree out front with the two stone mascots of the museum, Haedori and Haesuni. They represent the haechi, Seoul's mascot, which is an imaginary animal believed to ward off evil spirits, discern good and evil, and give joy to those around him.

Inside, there were some nice decorations, as well!

The lobby has huge stone murals near the information desk and a history library.

We climbed up to the 3rd floor where most of the displays are and found the giant scale model of Seoul. We had fun finding our "house" and visiting all of the landmarks we could recognize.

In the display about the Joseon Dynasty, we found this terracotta map of Seoul and a nongno, which was used to lift stones for building castles.

a portable firearm

There were a number of interactive computer screens throughout the museum - these were fun for us to learn more...and for Michael to push buttons.  :)

model of hanok living

On the balcony level pictured above we found more computer activities, relics, and directions for origami projects.

One of my favorite displays was the water clock, with ornate instrument ringers.

In the museum sections of more modern eras, there was a fun display from the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

There were a few fun trick eye exhibits...

Displays of clothing and screens...

...and many pictures of the transitions the city has gone through over the centuries. One of the most striking things to us were all the pictures of the destruction caused by war and the changes seen throughout the city's architecture.

In this next picture from 1926, during the Japanese occupation, #10 is where the Gwanghwamun Square begins today near City Hall and #17 is where the Gyeongbukgung Palace is again now located (after being rebuilt). 

There were so many things to see, I couldn't possibly share all of them in pictures, but here are a few more:

traditional wooden shoes to try on

pictures of many of the monuments throughout the city

the gift shop

We stopped by the cafe for a quick snack and had these tasty Vivel Snowballs...they looked perfect and round in the case...

And were given to us like this...for ease of eating? 

As we walked back to the subway, I snapped a few photos of the surrounding artwork - a massive, moving sculpture and a set of blue horses pulling a sleigh.

Live in or visiting Seoul?  Here's how to find the museum:

Address:
55 Saemunan-ro (sinmunno 2-ga), Jonggno-gu, Seoul 110-062, Korea
서울특별시 종로구 새문안로 55 (신문로2가)


Hours:
Closed on Mondays and New Year’s Day
Tuesday-Friday: 9:00 – 20:00 (yearlong)
Weekends and Holidays: 9:00-19:00 (March-Oct); 9:00-18:00 (Nov-Feb)

Fees:  FREE entry
Free English Audio Guide available at Information Desk, 1st Floor
Free storage lockers on the right before you enter the building.

Subway Directions:
1) Gwanghwamun Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 7.
Upon exiting the station, turn around, and turn right at the 4-way Intersection. Go straight about 500m to arrive at the museum on the right.

2) Seodaemun Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 4.
Go straight about 600m to arrive at the museum on the left.

Random "Living in Korea" Stuff - Part 6

Here are a few more random things about living in Korea:

1.  Selfie sticks! Want to get the ultimate self portrait while out and about? Then you need one of these bad boys! Very useful for group selfie shots and oh-so-fun, for just about 5,000 won!

Selfie-stick in use!

2.  Poop socks! Koreans have the BEST socks, with tons of cute patterns, characters, and sayings on them. This particular pair is so craptastic that I may have to get a bunch for Christmas presents - ha ha ha - just kidding! (Or am I?)

3.  Rooftops - this is the view from our apartment's storage room window. Nestled among the new, gleaming high-rises are a number of cobbled together shops and homes. I look down at the tarps, crumbling tiles, and stacks of teetering kimchi pots on some and honestly wonder how they manage to stay dry when it rains.

4.  Waffles - I occasionally try a new street snack during my travels and I think my new favorite is the waffle with some sort of cream cheese mixture inside - yummy!

5.  What does Seoul really look like? I've shared a LOT of photos on my blog posts, but here's a great time lapse video by a fellow at ROK-On that will give you the bigger picture.  It's fun for me to watch and say, "Hey, I've been to that spot!"  Enjoy:

Musical Hwarang and the Daehangno neighborhood

 As a K-Performance Supporter for the KTO I was able to attend another wonderful show this past week - the musical "Hwarang". I headed out to the Daehangno area on Seoul Subway Line 4 and exited at Hyehwa Station (Exit 2).  After a short walk, I found the Daehangno Yesulmadang building and headed to the 3rd floor for the show.

The waiting area is a simple hallway decorated with show memorabilia and the day's casting.

The set is very sparse - a painted back wall with five turning doors. The theater itself is small and intimate - the front row is on the same level as the performers (and I was worried about them during the sword fights)! The props used were really only for the fighting scenes.

The plot, from what I could read and understand online: five young men go to Seorabeol, the capital of Silla, to audition to become Hwarang. What are Hwarang, you ask? Well, "Hwa" mean flower and "rang" means young men - so beautiful men? Who, based on the action in the musical, also need to be good at archery, sword fighting, martial arts, poetry, and more.

The five characters are:

Yu-O: song of a Hwarang member who is rebelling against his mother

Ki Pang Rang: a self-centered son of a king who often fights with Yu-O

Moon No: son of a Hwarang that want to clear his father's name and lead the group

Moo Kwan Rang: forced by his father to apply; would rather write poetry; not a skilled fighter

Sa Da Ham: noble family servant's son; feels he must protect Moo Kwan Rang

This show is a full 2-hour musical, sung and performed completely in Korean and in a very K-Pop style, complete with dance numbers. The only translation shown was in Japanese (there are also a few showings when Chinese translations are provided). I was very thankful that I had scoured the internet for a synopsis and character stories - if I had not done so, I would have been completely lost! With my basic knowledge, I was able to understand what was going on, although I would have liked to understand the words to all of the songs (not just the topics).

At one point in the show there was, of course, the audience participation section - the actors each had someone draw on his face with a red lipstick. Since I could not understand the dialogue or significance of that scene, I can only guess that it had something to do with the facial patterns seen later in the show - maybe expressing their inner Hwarang?

Overall, it was a very enjoyable afternoon at the theater. The story flows well, showing their hard work to become Hwarang and their individual trials leading to the finale - will they become better fighters? will they be able to get along and work as a team? will Moo Kwan Rang and Sa Da Ham remain friends, or more?

They were very good singers, actors, and dancers - this musician just wishes 

she had been able to fully understand the lyrics!

The walk to and from the theater was an interesting one, as there were a number of art pieces on display.  I had some extra time before the show, so I got to explore the area a bit.  Coming out of the subway, I immediately found this sculpture:

And stumbled upon a small theater festival.  This area is full of small theaters and the walls of the subway were lined with posters.

If you happen to visit here, stop in at the Ticket Information Center just outside Hyewha Station.

There was a rather large art piece that declared "Life is Art, Art is Fun!"

And then I followed a nearby stream bed towards the theater:

And found these...no, they are not giant seashells...they are rainbow colored piles of poo!

Many people stopped to take photos with them...I did not.

One street over from the stream, on the way back from the theater, I went in search of the murals I had read about online.  There were some smaller ones on area restaurants:

And at the crossroads sign on Dongsung 1-gil, I found the popular large one:

A map mural of the area:

And my favorite: