Joseon royal archive home reopens to public
PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province — A museum dedicated to historical records from the Joseon era (1392-1910) has reopened following a 10-month renovation, with a focus on outreach to community.
The National Museum of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty houses the original 'Joseon Wangjo Sillok' and 'Joseon Wangjo Uigwe.'
'Joseon Wangjo Sillok' documents 472 years of Joseon's history chronologically from 1392 to 1863, highlighting the accomplishments of Joseon kings, from the first king, Taejo, to the 25th king, Cheoljong.
Meanwhile, 'Joseon Wangjo Uigwe' is a detailed record of protocols designed to establish standards for Joseon rituals, laying out procedures for state and royal family events, accompanied by illustrations and explanations.
Starting in 1606, copies of the annals and records of royal protocols were sent to a storage facility in Odaesan, a mountainous area north of Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province. The Japanese government took the collections out of the country in 1913 during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.
Currently, there are 75 volumes of the Odaesan edition of the annals and 82 volumes of the Odaesan edition of the protocols. The annals were all repatriated from Japan in 2017, the protocols in 2011.
The museum, which opened in November 2023 showcasing some of the books, closed in July 2024 to undergo a massive renovation that includes more room for not only exhibitions, but space to connect with local communities, starting with children.
The newly launched Children's Museum facilitates such outreach, said Shin Jae-keun, a museum curator who took part in the renovation.
'Children are our future; they need to find this place interesting, keep coming in and make this museum stay relevant, so we can continue to build on what we have achieved here,' Shin said of the museum's unique standing as the only venue in the country featuring both the royal annals and protocols.
Digital games using animals found in the annals would make learning about them more approachable, Shin added.
The Children's Museum plans to collaborate with local kindergartens and elementary schools in running educational programs at a dedicated space in the museum.
The museum's top priority now is to build an underground storage facility staffed by preservation experts. The project will take at least five years to complete, according to the museum.
Underground facilities are best to guard against wildfires, which the museum says are the biggest natural threats posing irreparable harm to the Joseon collections. Until construction is complete, the collection of annals and records of protocols are being kept at the National Palace Museum of Korea, a state-run museum in Seoul.
Chung Yong-jae, the NPMK director, described the reopening as a turning point for the country. 'Sillok is the source of everything definitively Korean,' Chung said.
The special exhibition 'The Journey to the Odaesan National History Archives,' running May 1-July 13, will feature over 40 artifacts related to Joseon.
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