National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, Seoul

 A relatively new museum in Seoul is the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. As the name implies, the exhibits focus on Korea's history over the past 100 years or so.
 The entry lobby has a really neat display screen that moves like sliding doors.
 Korean flags from various historical events.
 The first few exhibits start around the introduction of western culture and the Japanese annexation.
 The older exhibits are mostly documents...
 But as you move towards the wars you get more artifacts.
 I really like seeing old textbooks. They frequently have interesting artwork (especially in science books) and for subjects like math they can be understood without knowing the language.
 The first motor vehicles were called "Sibal" and used some parts from US military jeeps. They first went on sale in 1955 and more than half of the engine parts were made in Korea.
 Maps are almost as cool as textbooks. At least, the old ones.
 Safety first!
 As South Korea recovered from the Korean War, it moved more into manufacturing goods.
 This is a KIA truck. I don't recall seeing any three-wheeled trucks in Korea on my trips.
 As Korea grew, highways were built, including this one connecting Seoul to Busan.
 Korea is probably most known for providing home electronics, especially from Samsung and LG.
 Of course, automobiles are exported as well - Hyundai and Kia. This is the Hyundai Pony 1, from 1982 - Korea's first own model car.
 One section of the museum looks at home life in Korea. Here are some goods from the past, including some models of traditional homes and modern apartments.
 There's a mock apartment room, complete with newspaper-covered walls.
 See what working life was like in another room.
 Continuing on, an exhibit on popular culture shows several popular movies and TV shows. The first color TV broadcast in Korea was in 1980.
 This exhibit looks at several aspects of pop culture in brief, including some KBO details.
 Music, movies, and fashion all have their own exhibits as well.
 A replica of the President of Korea's office and podium nearly finishes the tour. You can take a seat or stand behind the podium and get your photograph taken.
There's a separate museum for the Olympics but this museum has a few exhibits from the 1988 Games.
 The last part of the exhibit looks at very recent history - the opening of the KTX high-speed line and Korea's place in the technology markets.
 Korea is a manufacturing center for computer chips, such as memory.
And of course, LG and other manufacturers contribute a lot to the cell phone market.

No comments:

Post a Comment