Full disclosure: it’s been over 3 months since our visit to the National Museum of Korea. And in those past 3 months, we had the hardest PCS move of our lives. So you’ll have to forgive me if this post isn’t just BURSTING with oodles of details about the exhibits and the museum. Still, I wanted to share this to give you all another FREE thing to do – especially in preparation for the disrespectfully hot Korea summer coming up.
Our visit to the National Museum of Korea
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again (and again, and again) – Korea knows how to do museums. I’m constantly in awe at the amount of detail they put into their museums – as well as their efforts to make everything so family-friendly. I’ve found that most museums we visited in Korea had some kind of children’s museum inside of it, and this one was no exception. And, while we were on a little bit of a time-crunch and didn’t have the chance to check out the children’s museum, you can make reservations and find more information on the National Museum of Korea Website.
This museum was well organized by different eras of Korean history. Each of the exhibits had information in English and Korean (and maybe Chinese and/or Japanese – although I can’t remember exactly). We all found the exhibits about ancient burials fascinating and the kids even enjoyed themselves – until they didn’t, that is. Of course, our kids (especially the toddlers) don’t have attention-spans that allowed us to see much of the museum. But the parts that we did see were incredible.
While Brandon’s siblings explored other exhibits, we headed down to the food court for some Ramyeon and Bibimbap and indulged in all the delicious food (while the toddlers ate their weight in dried-seaweed). While my memory isn’t the best about every single exhibit that we saw at the National Museum of Korea, I remember being so glad that we had the chance to visit. It had been on my list for the entirety of our time in Korea, and it was one of the last things we did before moving.
While we were there too late to see the full splendor of the changing leaves, I hear visiting the museum earlier in the fall is the best. The grounds were beautiful – even so late in the season – so I can only imagine how breathtaking they are during late spring and early fall!
’til next time…
Ash
How to visit the National Museum of Korea in Seoul
Directions & Parking: The National Museum of Korea is located in Yongsan – on the opposite side of Yongsan Base as the War Memorial of Korea. There is parking available, but because there is a limited amount of spots, I recommend taking public transportation to get there.
Naver pin: National Museum of Korea
Naver pin: National Museum of Korea Parking Garage
Public Transportation: From the Yongsan walk-out gate, take a left and walk to Samgakji Station (just past the War Memorial of Korea). From Samgakji Station, take Line4 toward Oido and get off at Ichon Station. Take Exit 2 from Ichon Station and it lets out right down the street from the museum.
Hours:
Open daily from 10:00am – *6:00pm
*Wednesdays and Saturdays the museum closes at 9:00pm
Cost: FREE (special exhibitions may require a fee)
Amenities: There is a large food court located in the front of the museum (go in the front entrance, turn right, and then take another right down the hall. There was also a fancier restaurant located at the back of the museum. Near the food court there are a variety of gift shops, as well as lockers and bathrooms.
Accessibility: The museum is easily accessible for strollers and wheelchairs. With wide aisles between exhibits, and easy-to-locate elevators, don’t hesitate to bring the stroller for little ones.
