Night at the Museums
Museums Open Doors With Various Cultural Programs
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
If you are seeking something fun to do during the long winter nights, how about going to a museum?
Lights and a tranquil atmosphere are set to make museums even more spectacular at night as they are set to open their doors to the public in the evenings.
More and more museums are joining the night programs hosting cultural events as well as on-going exhibitions to better appeal to the public.
Visitors ― from daytime workers to students and couples ― are welcoming soirees at museums with their low cost but sound cultural flavor.
National Museum of Korea
The National Museum of Korea hosts the night programs until 9 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday.
Boasting of its picturesque night view reflecting in its trademark pond ``Geoulmot,'' the museum has been operating a free shuttle bus service since Nov. 5 from the back of the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul to Yongsan at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday.
Visitors can participate in a special program ``Conversation With Curators'' in which curators answer questions and explain about the exhibitions.
For this month, the program offers various exhibitions under 18 themes including Unified Silla sculptures, Korean Buddhist sculptures and Goryeo royal ceramics.
The night opening first began in 2006 to help visitors enjoy cultural events after work, and has gradually expanded to two times a week from once a month.
According to the museum, around 200-300 visitors from workers to couples looking for a place for a good date and families come to the museum every evening.
``Compared to its daytime visitors, the nighttime visitors are much more serious in their attitude when they hear the curators explain the exhibitions. Also they ask a lot of questions,'' a museum official said.
Those who want to take part in the curator's session can apply at the information desk on the first floor of the permanent exhibition hall from 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Exhibition to watch
The collection of royal ceramics from the Goryeo Kingdom (918 - 1392) unearthed from royal tombs includes 290 highly valuable Goryeo celadon pieces, including four national treasures including the ``Melon-Shaped Bottle'' (National Treasure No. 94).
The exhibition titled ``The Royal Ceramics of the Goryeo Dynasty'' opened in the National Museum Fine Arts Gallery II on Dec. 2 and will continue through Feb. 15, 2009.
Many other royal celadon pieces from Goryeo dating back to the 12th and early 13th centuries are also on display.
Other royal ceramics were discovered in the tombs of King Myeongjong; King Huijong; Queen Wondeok, the wife of King Gangjong; and Queen Sun-gyeong, the wife of King Wonjong.
The exhibition presents ceramics restored from broken shards found at old kiln sites in Sadang-li, Gangjin in South Jeolla Province and Yucheon-li, Buan in North Jeolla Province. Most ceramics used by the royal households were made at these two kilns.
The Goryeo royal families preferred celadon pieces with their solemn beauty imbued from highly developed techniques.
The exhibition provides visitors with a chance to get a glimpse of what high taste the Goryeo royal household had.
During the exhibition, visitors can speak with curators to have a better understanding of the Goryeo royal ceramics, in the Ceramic Exhibition Room of the gallery from 7:30-8 p.m., Dec. 17.
Seoul Museum of History
The Seoul Museum of History is located in the heart of the city, Gwanghwamun, and attracts a large number of people working around the district.
The museum has been operating nighttime programs since March 2005, and stays open until 9 p.m. everyday. It also offers various programs alongside the ongoing exhibitions.
The museum hosts a free concert on the last Friday of every month. This month, the Zeloso Wind Ensemble will perform in the museum lobby, Dec. 26. The group was founded in 1994 and consists of amateur musicians. Like the musical term, zeloso, all the members dedicate themselves to playing music with zeal and enthusiasm.
They have given many concerts over the years and play carols, film music, and familiar classical music at the end of every year.
The museum also shows movies every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. This month, various films such as ``Breakfast at Tiffany's,'' (Dec. 17) ``It's a Wonderful Life'' (Dec. 24) and ``Splendor in the Grass'' (Dec. 31) will be shown in the museums' auditorium. Free tickets will be distributed and they include admission to the museum exhibition halls.
``If visitors use the nighttime programs, admission is free. Also, the monthly concerts and the weekly free movie showings are good for foreign visitors,'' Karen Koh, an official of the museum, said.
Exhibitions to watch
Visitors can enjoy the current special exhibition ``Excavation of Sam Cheon Sa Ji,'' which will continue until Feb. 22. The exhibition shows the excavation and archaeological investigation that took place at the Samcheon temple site on Mt. Bukhansan for three years, from September 2005 to December 2007.
Located halfway up Jeungchwibong Peak, 340 meters above sea level, the site is divided into A and B sites. The A district contained the structural foundations built to protect the memorial monument of the state priest Daeji Beopgyeong and other building annexes. The B site contained the main prayer hall.
Excavated relics include fragments of the memorial tablet to Daeji, silver and cloisonne adornments, bronze bowls, gilt wooden furniture, and stone heads of bodhisattva. Also, various roof tiles, bricks, and ceramics were found.
The most noteworthy achievement of the excavation was the collecting of 250 fragments of the memorial tablet of Daeji who was the great authority of the Buddhist order, Beopsangjong, in the early Goryeo Kingdom. Through its restoration, his life and the history of Buddhism between the late Goryeo and the early Joseon kingdoms are depicted.
Under the motto of ``The Museum Made by Citizens,'' an exhibition will open on Dec. 16 and run to Feb. 1 of around 20,000 pieces of relics given by 210 donors per year since 1996.
These collections permanently preserved in the museum have been evaluated as treasured cultural heritages and are actively used in various exhibitions, and for education and academic research.
Other provincial museums
Provincial national museums also introduced night opening programs starting late last year. The national museums of Gyeonggju, Gwangju, Jeonju, Daegu, Gimhae, Jeju and Jinju open their doors every Saturday until 9 p.m.
The Cheongju National Museum and the Gongju National Museum are open until 9 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month; while the Chuncheon National Museum opens on the third Saturday until 8 p.m.; and the Buyeo National Museum, the fourth Friday until 7:30 p.m.