It was cloudy and very humid all day on Friday, but it didn't rain. After I did some work in the morning, I walked the block to the Seoul Metro stop, figured out what was what (they've got great ticket dispensing machines that switch to English at the press of an on-screen button), paid my money (1000 won, or about $1, plus a deposit of 500 won), and boarded the train. I had to switch lines, which was no problem, and pretty soon I was walking toward the "new" National Museum of Korea.
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| National Museum of Korea (from Main Gate) |
Entry to the permanent exhibits is free, and I started on the first of three floors, which illustrates the history of Korea from paleolithic times through the founding of modern Korea. I found that fascinating, and a valuable refresher for my long forgotten reading about the various kingdoms and unified states and conflicts with Japan and China. I then went up to the third floor, which is devoted to Sculpture and Crafts, including a large gallery of Buddhist sculpture. I spent a lot of time there, and also in the Celadon gallery. Across the hall there are galleries devoted to the arts of other Asian countries, and I strolled through, although I didn't linger.
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| View from Third Floor, National Museum of Korea |
The second floor has galleries devoted to calligraphy and painting. I especially enjoyed the calligraphy, as it brought to mind the Chinese character calligraphy studies I did when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer here. Also on this floor were several galleries of donations from private collectors.
By this time, I was starving, and after an unsuccessful stop in the museum shop, I found the "food court". There's also a Korean restaurant in the building, but I was in too big a hurry for that, so I just got a plate of "curry rice" -- a dish I enjoyed from time to time when I lived here. It was great!
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| Curry Rice in museum "food court" |
And that was that for the museum. I strolled around the grounds for a bit, and here are some more shots:
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Museum entrance (the banner celebrates the selection
of Korea as host of the 2018 winter Olympics) |
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| Reflecting pond |
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