During the promotion of the Urban Environment Maintenance Project in Gongpyeong zones 1, 2, and 4, in 2015, the old alleyways and building sites of the historic city of Seoul, from the times of Joseon Kingdom’s “Hanyang” to the more recent “Gyeongseong,” both former names of present-day Seoul, were excavated in their entirety. In response, the Seoul metropolitan government opened the doors of the Gongpyeong Historic Sites Museum on September 12, 2018, with the aim of cleanly preserving the city’s remains and memories of the past where they stand today. This also marked the first, unprecedented case of culture assets unearthed during a downtown maintenance project being enforced with the “Gongpyeong-dong Rule” of preserving historic remains where they stand.
The Gongpyeong-dong Rule states that all unearthed culture assets over the course of downtown maintenance project implementation are to be preserved where they stand. The rule is grounded by the awareness of the necessity for complete preservation of cultural assets at the time of project implementation and encourages voluntary participation of project conductors through the awarding of “area-ratio” incentives based upon the surface area required for the preservation of the unearthed asset after having designed a customized architectural structure needed for such preservation. Following the creating of guidelines based upon the construction of historic site museums, the Seoul metropolitan government consulted with a city architectural overseer, resulting in the Gongpyeong Historic Sites Museum operating out of Seoul.
The excavation inquiry conducted during 2014-2015 revealed a total finding of 108 building sites, thoroughfares, alleyways, and other historical traces, along with over 1,000 daily artifacts. Among the excavated findings, were that which belonged to the 16-17th century, fourth level strata, found in its most complete form, prior to being relocated to the museum for restoration.
Some of the findings included three building sites, such as a large house in Jeon-dong, a square-shaped alleyway house, and a small house on Imunan-gil, which were presented as the core, excavated content through various methods of display, including miniaturized structures, 1/10 the original size, virtual reality facilities, and a life-like restored 1:1 replica above the excavated artifacts, to complete the reproduction of 16-17th century Hanyang. Visitors can experience the once frequented alleyway during the Joseon Kingdom up until the present while walking upon the Imunan-gil and Jeon-dong alleyway to relive life back in the era of the Joseon Kingdom.
Exhibition hall entrance
Exhibition hall panoramic view
Miniaturized large house on Jeon-dong alleyway
Square-shaped alley house & Wall projection video
Small house on Imunan-gil
Glass floor deck & Hands-on corner
Imunan-gil
Jeon-dong alleyway
Excavated artifact – Jindangu
Excavated artifact – Ceramics with inscription| Tue. - Sun. | 9:00-18:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Closed | Jan. 1, Mondays | |
Free
26, Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Centropolis, 1BF)
Tel. 02-724-0135
55 Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03177, Korea
COPYRIGHTⓒ SEOUL MUSEUM OF HISTORY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
