The last weekend of February we took a trip, along with our co-workers, to the National Museum of Korea, which is located near the Yongsan area of Seoul. It was a beautiful, sunny day - a much needed respite from the chilly winter. We'd heard that the museum was well worth taking the time to see, but that we'd probably have to make several trips to see it all. Luckily, it was free on that particular Saturday (or maybe every Saturday - I'm not sure). They claim to be the largest museum in Asia and I've got believe they're right. I love museums, but this was a bit overwhelming. We could only get through about 3 galleries in the 3 or so hours spent inside.
Walking up with the museum in the distance. I'm sure the landscaping will be much more picturesque on our next visit! The museum is actually two separate buildings with a roof structure connecting them. The one on the left is meant to symbolize the past and the one on the right symbolizes the future.
A close-up of the main entrance reveals a great view of the famous Seoul Tower in the distance.
Our group before viewing the wonders inside the museum.
The museum uses natural daylighting to fill the expansive main corridor.
South Korea has a numbered system of cataloging their most prized artifacts, sites, buildings, etc. We saw quite a few of these "National Treasures" during our visit to the museum. Check out this
Wikipedia link for more information or a better explanation. The photo above is a replica of National Treasure No. 287 - a bronze incense burner. I'm not exactly sure what happened to the original one...perhaps they have it in storage for safekeeping.
Something shiny and gold with a cool design that I thought was interesting. They are probably on the National Treasure list, but I'm not sure what they are called.
Here's a view of the main corridor. So far, it's the only place I've visited in Korea where I didn't run into someone every time I turned around. It still had the usual throngs of people, but the building was sized to handle the crowds.
National Treasure No. 86 - 10 story stone pagoda. It was originally constructed in 1348 and was one of the highlights of the museum.
Another view of the pagoda, looking down from level 3.
I don't know any details about this sculpture other than, obviously, it's a stone buddha. We saw many other beautiful things, so check out my
flickr site for the rest of the photos!
Basically they load all their belongings from the moving truck onto the little platform and then hoist it up to the right floor. It's all unloaded through the sliding balcony doors. Genius!
As with everything in Korea, the whole process was over in a matter of minutes. I guess small apartments equals not a lot of clutter to fill them!
Most of the class (minus 3 students). It's hard for them to all hold still at once.
Jenny, cutest little girl ever...and one of my favorites at ECC!
Group shot! All the girls then decided they wanted to take a picture with teacher.
Here's Julie - she's super quiet in class, but so so sweet. I have a couple of students who wear purple almost every day and she is one of them. I feel a special sort of connection with her!
Lisa's turn...I'm not sure why, but her shirt that day said "Little Bride". I'm guessing neither she nor whoever bought it for her have any clue what it says, but I thought it was pretty funny.
Walking up with the museum in the distance. I'm sure the landscaping will be much more picturesque on our next visit! The museum is actually two separate buildings with a roof structure connecting them. The one on the left is meant to symbolize the past and the one on the right symbolizes the future.
A close-up of the main entrance reveals a great view of the famous Seoul Tower in the distance.
Our group before viewing the wonders inside the museum.
The museum uses natural daylighting to fill the expansive main corridor.
South Korea has a numbered system of cataloging their most prized artifacts, sites, buildings, etc. We saw quite a few of these "National Treasures" during our visit to the museum. Check out this Wikipedia link for more information or a better explanation. The photo above is a replica of National Treasure No. 287 - a bronze incense burner. I'm not exactly sure what happened to the original one...perhaps they have it in storage for safekeeping.
Something shiny and gold with a cool design that I thought was interesting. They are probably on the National Treasure list, but I'm not sure what they are called.
Here's a view of the main corridor. So far, it's the only place I've visited in Korea where I didn't run into someone every time I turned around. It still had the usual throngs of people, but the building was sized to handle the crowds.
National Treasure No. 86 - 10 story stone pagoda. It was originally constructed in 1348 and was one of the highlights of the museum.
Another view of the pagoda, looking down from level 3.
I don't know any details about this sculpture other than, obviously, it's a stone buddha. We saw many other beautiful things, so check out my flickr site for the rest of the photos!
