By Kim Ji-myung
Just on the northeastern corner of Anguk-dong Intersection on the site of Poongmoon Girls' High School, construction is underway. In a year, Seoul will add one more "must see" attraction on this intersection between the traditional Bukchon residential area and the commercial quarters of bustling Insa-dong.
Like many schools in Seoul, Poongmoon was opened in 1937 during the Japanese colonial period on a former residence of the Korean royal family, namely the residence of King Sejong's eighth son, Prince Yeongeung.
The site has been symbolic of the encounter between the past and present. Now, it looks to traditional crafts, which are the core elements in a culture transmitted down through generations, to create a new future. The school has moved to south of the Han River and the old site will soon soon become the Seoul Craft Museum.
Designed to become a hub space in the city, the Seoul Craft Museum will change the area into a cultural park with an open space for citizens. Some sections will have walls removed so that visitors to and from Samcheong-dong are free to use the museum space.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government chose to utilize the existing school buildings instead of constructing a new building for the museum despite concerns the six buildings in differing shapes and sizes scattered over an area of 1,590 square meters may confuse visitors.
Director Kim Jung-hwa, however, looks confident. "Each building has its own characteristics. There will be a main building, east wing, textile building, children's museum, atrium, and management building," she said.
This museum design specialist has proven her life-long research and experience in museums across the world in conceptualizing many museums in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The goal is to connect art and life, tradition and future, and everyday life and ideals according to Kim.
Director Kim sees an urgent necessity to redefine the values of craft. Although people say that the flower of creativity blooms by its roots in tradition, craftsmanship can survive and advance when "constancy and change" keep balance in an artistic environment and financial conditions.
Unlike other genres of art, handicraft products exist in a fuzzy border area between art and utensils. They are items for common use, traded at shops and markets. They use a great variety of materials and skills handed down for generations. But many of them are in fact near extinction because of a dwindling number of consumers in modern day life.
She also stressed that crafts should not be appreciated only for their finished products, but that they should be valued for their entire production process.
"The whole process from materials to final products is very important," she said. "The craft museum should be a hub for helping the craft ecosystem awake to new perspective, and help it operate in a healthy and smooth environment."
To help realize these ambitious goals of the museum, the city government assigned about 30 curatorial and administrative officials to the museum.
She believes the museum should operate on three pillars ― exhibition, research and education. In this regard, not only a collection, but also a vast archive of crafts will form the solid foundation of the museum.
"The archive will include artist sketches, drawings and work tools," and "be digitized and open to the users," Director Kim stressed. "The museum will build a comprehensive and dense information system so that students of crafts do not feel any inconvenience."
The museum is expected to set another milestone as a special venue for the disabled. "Crafts are inseparable from the 'hands' of people. I am sure that tactile exhibits will provide a new experience for museum visitors," Kim said.
The museum held a roundtable in 2019 to prepare for tactile exhibition plans. Participants included Professor Hirose Kojiro of the National Museum of Ethnology, who lost sight at age 13, as well as Marie Clate O'Neill, Professor of French Ecole de Louvre, Julia Kasim from Kyoto Design Lab, and Yi Yeon-su, adjunct professor at Hanyang University.
It seems fortunate that the museum found a director like Kim Jung-hwa. She once told me that she had spent all her salary in buying flight tickets to see the wonderful museums around the world.
The writer (Heritagekorea21@gmail.com) is the chairperson of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).
Just on the northeastern corner of Anguk-dong Intersection on the site of Poongmoon Girls' High School, construction is underway. In a year, Seoul will add one more "must see" attraction on this intersection between the traditional Bukchon residential area and the commercial quarters of bustling Insa-dong.
Like many schools in Seoul, Poongmoon was opened in 1937 during the Japanese colonial period on a former residence of the Korean royal family, namely the residence of King Sejong's eighth son, Prince Yeongeung.
The site has been symbolic of the encounter between the past and present. Now, it looks to traditional crafts, which are the core elements in a culture transmitted down through generations, to create a new future. The school has moved to south of the Han River and the old site will soon soon become the Seoul Craft Museum.
Designed to become a hub space in the city, the Seoul Craft Museum will change the area into a cultural park with an open space for citizens. Some sections will have walls removed so that visitors to and from Samcheong-dong are free to use the museum space.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government chose to utilize the existing school buildings instead of constructing a new building for the museum despite concerns the six buildings in differing shapes and sizes scattered over an area of 1,590 square meters may confuse visitors.
Director Kim Jung-hwa, however, looks confident. "Each building has its own characteristics. There will be a main building, east wing, textile building, children's museum, atrium, and management building," she said.
This museum design specialist has proven her life-long research and experience in museums across the world in conceptualizing many museums in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The goal is to connect art and life, tradition and future, and everyday life and ideals according to Kim.
Director Kim sees an urgent necessity to redefine the values of craft. Although people say that the flower of creativity blooms by its roots in tradition, craftsmanship can survive and advance when "constancy and change" keep balance in an artistic environment and financial conditions.
Unlike other genres of art, handicraft products exist in a fuzzy border area between art and utensils. They are items for common use, traded at shops and markets. They use a great variety of materials and skills handed down for generations. But many of them are in fact near extinction because of a dwindling number of consumers in modern day life.
She also stressed that crafts should not be appreciated only for their finished products, but that they should be valued for their entire production process.
"The whole process from materials to final products is very important," she said. "The craft museum should be a hub for helping the craft ecosystem awake to new perspective, and help it operate in a healthy and smooth environment."
To help realize these ambitious goals of the museum, the city government assigned about 30 curatorial and administrative officials to the museum.
She believes the museum should operate on three pillars ― exhibition, research and education. In this regard, not only a collection, but also a vast archive of crafts will form the solid foundation of the museum.
"The archive will include artist sketches, drawings and work tools," and "be digitized and open to the users," Director Kim stressed. "The museum will build a comprehensive and dense information system so that students of crafts do not feel any inconvenience."
The museum is expected to set another milestone as a special venue for the disabled. "Crafts are inseparable from the 'hands' of people. I am sure that tactile exhibits will provide a new experience for museum visitors," Kim said.
The museum held a roundtable in 2019 to prepare for tactile exhibition plans. Participants included Professor Hirose Kojiro of the National Museum of Ethnology, who lost sight at age 13, as well as Marie Clate O'Neill, Professor of French Ecole de Louvre, Julia Kasim from Kyoto Design Lab, and Yi Yeon-su, adjunct professor at Hanyang University.
It seems fortunate that the museum found a director like Kim Jung-hwa. She once told me that she had spent all her salary in buying flight tickets to see the wonderful museums around the world.
The writer (Heritagekorea21@gmail.com) is the chairperson of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).
