Various experiences at the National Palace Museum of Korea

Nam InHan

I have been to the Gyeongbok Palace with many new students. But no one knew of the National Palace Museum next to it which is close to exit 5 of the Gyeongbok Palace Station on Line 3. A week ago, I visited the National Palace Museum and thought that perhaps new international students may better understand Korean palaces and its history by visiting the museum!

The museum is very accessible as it is open to the public almost every day, except on New Year’s Day and Chuseok. Even better, the admission is free. On weekdays, the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6p.m. On weekends and holidays the museum closes an hour later. They allow admission up to an hour before the closing time.

Foreign visitors can rent an audio guide at information desk on the second floor. Moreover, A free tour guide will also be provided if you wait by the same desk ten minutes prior to the start of a scheduled guided tour. English guided tours are offered at 11a.m. and 2:30p.m. Chinese guides(10:30,14:00) and Japanese guides(10:00,13:30) are provided as well.

One of the most memorable things are the activities. For example, you can complete a stamp book by venturing through three floors of the museum. You can also do trace drawings of paintings of orchids from the Joseon Dynasty on the B2 floor. The painting was drawn by Heungseon Daewangun, the father of King Gojong. Visitors can paint with a tablet and a projector will reflect the image onto the wall.