Museums and Memorial Halls

• Address

• #1-57 Sejong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

• Telephone

• 02-3701-7500

• Opening Hours

• 09:00-18:00 (weekdays), 09:00-19:00 (weekends and public holidays)

• Admission Fee

• Adult/2000 won, Youth/1000 won

• Closed on Mondays

A new home for the treasure collections of the Joseon Dynasty, which had been stored in the old National Museum of Korea, located in the precincts of Gyeongbokgung (Palace). The National Palace Museum of Korea was opened on August 15, 2005 as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of Korea in 1945.

It was during the mid 1980s that the Cultural Heritage Administration began to restore Changgyeonggung (Place) and rebuilt the palace buildings in Gyeongbokgung (Palace) that had been demolished by Japanese colonial rulers. In 1992, an exhibition hall was opened in the precincts of Deoksugung (Palace) to store and exhibit those royal treasures of the Joseon Dynasty that had been dispersed around the four royal palaces, the Royal Ancestral Shrine and the many royal tombs of the dynasty.

It soon became clear that the Deoksugung Exhibition Hall was too small to store and exhibit the collections not to mention that it could offer little resources for the publication, research and preservation of the valuable royal cultural heritage of the Joseon Dynasty. In 1993, this situation led the Cultural Heritage Administration to open an independent museum exclusively for the royal treasures, a vision materialized in 2005, after over a decade.

The newly opened museum is marked by an exhibition space three times larger than the earlier one housed in Deoksugung (Palace), and a storage space some 30 times larger. The new facility is large enough to store and exhibit the entire collection of over 40,000 royal treasures inherited from the Joseon Dynasty.

• Address

• Gyeongbokgung Palace, #1-1 Sejong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

• Telephone

• 02-734-1346

• Opening Hours

• 09:00-18:00 (Mar-Oct), 09:00-17:00 (Nov-Feb)

• Admission Fee

• Adult/3000 won, Youth/1500 won

• Closed on Tuesdays and the New Year’s Day

The National Folk Museum of Korea houses a wide variety of collections of folk materials that contain important clues about the life and ideas of Korean people in the past. The collections include many important original and reproduced relics from the prehistoric period, the Three Kingdoms, Goryeo and Joseon. The main attractions of the museum include Goryeo’s printing heritage, the Hangeul writing system created during early Joseon, prehistoric tools for daily use, and objects related with basic human needs, rites of passages and seasonal festivals. The museum also exhibits models of some of Korea’s greatest architectural heritage sites, such as Anapji Pond of Silla, the 9-story Pagoda of Hwangnyongsa Temple, and the Geunjeongjeon Hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace, as well as symbolic folk monuments such as village guardian posts (“Great General under Heaven” and “Great Female General under Earth”), stone guardian (Dolhareubang) and treadwheel.

• Address

• 135 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 140-026, Korea

• Telephone

• +82-2-2077-9685(English)

• Opening Hours

• *Permanent Exhibit>> Tue/Thu/Fri 9am - 6pm, Wed/Sat 9am - 9pm, Sun/holidays 9am - 7pm
• *Children's Museum>> Tue-Sun/holidays: 9am-6pm(every 1hr 30min admission, max 200 admission per session), Last Wed of each month 9am - 9pm

• Admission Fee

• Free admission to Permanent Exhibition & Children's Museum

• Closed on the New Year’s Day and Mondays(if it is a holiday,closed on the next day)

The National Museum of Korea is the most representative and most extensive museum in Korea with over 220,000 objects in its collection. Since its establishment in 1945, the museum has been committed to various studies and research activities in the fields of archaeology, history, and art, continuously developing a variety of exhibitions and education programs.

The current museum site was opened to the public in 2005. The museum displays over 13,000 pieces throughout six permanent exhibition galleries such as Archaeological Gallery, Historical Gallery, Fine Arts Gallery I, Donation Gallery, Fine Arts Gallery II, and Asian Art Gallery. Visitors could meet various national treasures such as Pensive Bodhisattva(No. 83), Goryeo Ceradon Openwork Burner(No. 95), Ten-Story Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple(No.86) and Gold Crown from Silla(No.191). It also has special exhibition halls, education facilities, a children's museum, huge outdoor exhibition areas, restaurants, cafes, shops and other amenities.

One-hour guided gallery tours in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean are available
- in English 10:30am/2:30pm(Tue-Sun)
- in Japanese 9:30am(Tue-Fri), 10:30am/2:30pm(Sat, Sun)
- in Chinese 10:30am(Tue-Fri), 10:30am/2:30pm(Sat, Sun)
- in Korean 10:30am/11:30am/2:30pm/3:30pm(Tue-Sun)

• Address

• #2-1 Sinmunro 2-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul

• Telephone

• 02-724-0114

• Opening Hours

• 09:00-22:00 (weekdays), 10:00-19:00 (Sat & public holidays)

• Admission Fee

• Adult/700won,Youth,Police&Military/300won, free admission for kids under 12 and seniors over 65

• Closed on the New Year’s Day, Mondays and public holidays

Located on the site of Gyeonghuigung Palace where Seoul High School once stood. The Seoul Museum of History is Korea’s only museum specializing in the history of the capital city. The museum is divided into four permanent exhibition zones according to theme and has a hall for donated collections and a special exhibition hall. Since its establishment on May 21, 2002, the museum has been an important educational institution full of valuable sources of knowledge about the history and culture of Seoul. With the Gyeonghuigung History Park, which contains the museum, along with other recreation and leisure facilities, the museum is a very popular destination among those seeking peaceful refreshment and educational opportunities in the heart of Seoul.

Permanent Exhibitions

The museum’s permanent exhibition area is divided into four zones according to theme, “Seoul, the Capital of Joseon” (Zone 1), “Life in Seoul” (Zone 2), “Culture of Seoul” (Zone 3) and “Development of Seoul as a City” (Zone 4). The museum also contains hands-on exhibitions, a “touch museum” where visitors are given visual information, and the “information bridge” that provides comprehensive information of the exhibitions via multimedia means.

Size of collection

: over 8,600 items

• Address

• #88 Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul

• Telephone

• 02-410-1051~5

• Opening Hours

• 10:00-17:30

• Admission Fee

• Adult (over 18)/3,000 won, Kids under 12/1,500 won, Military & Youth (18 or under)/ 2,000 won,
  free admission for the disabled and seniors. Discount tickets are available for groups of 20 or more
  paid visitors.

• Closed on Mondays

This museum was opened on September 18, 1990, to commemorate the triumphant achievements the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games made for world peace and to promote the great Olympic spirit among young people. Complete with a multi-functional hall containing various forms of entertainment and educational facilities, the museum has grown into one of Seoul’s major tourist attractions.

• Address

• 8th Street, Yongsandong 1(il)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

• Telephone

• 02-709-3032

• Opening Hours

• 09:30-18:00

• Admission Fee

• Adult/3000 won, Student (18 or under)/2000 won, 4 to 6 year olds/1000 won

• Closed on Mondays

Located on the former site of the Korean Army HQ, the War Memorial contains a large exhibition area of about 20,000 m² in a building with 4 aboveground and 2 underground floors. The entire exhibition area is divided into the Memorial Hall, War History, Korean War, Expeditionary Forces, ROK Armed Forces, Large Military Equipment and Defense Industries. At the center of the museum plaza is a statue depicting two brothers reunited after one became an ROK soldier and the other a NK soldier.