Seoul opens underground museum showcasing intact Joseon-era ruins

A full-scale replica of the Ilseongjeongsiui, a 15th-century dual-use astronomical clock designed to measure time during both day and night, is displayed at the newly opened Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul's historic Insa-dong neighborhood. Courtesy of Seoul Museum of History

Beneath a newly completed 25-story office tower in central Seoul, visitors will soon be able to walk along the stone-paved alleys of 16th-century Joseon Dynasty, stepping directly into the daily lives and cutting-edge science of Korea’s past.

The Seoul Museum of History announced Tuesday the opening of the Insa Historic Sites Museum, a sprawling 4,810-square-meter subterranean site located in the historic neighborhood of Insa-dong. Scheduled for an official opening ceremony Wednesday, and public admission Thursday, the basement facility is the largest on-site museum in the Korean capital.

Unlike traditional museums that house relics behind glass cases away from their origin, the new exhibition hall presents a massive archaeological site approximately where it was unearthed. Visitors walking along elevated wooden decks will look down upon the preserved foundations of six 16th-century buildings, ancient drainage systems and a massive communal stone well.

The ruins were uncovered between 2020 and 2021 during excavation work for a commercial redevelopment project in the historic city-center neighborhood. Recognizing the academic value of the findings, municipal authorities and cultural heritage officials struck a deal with the private developer. In exchange for preserving the archaeological layers on-site and donating the museum space to the city, the developer was granted a significant zoning incentive, allowing the building to rise 25 stories instead of the originally planned 17.

"The Insa Historic Sites Museum is a prime example of how urban preservation and sustainable development can coexist," said Choi Byung-goo, the director of Seoul Museum of History.

In addition to the architectural ruins, the exhibition features 523 artifacts recovered from the ground. Chief among them is the first physically confirmed specimen of the Ilseongjeongsiui, a dual day-and-night astronomical clock commissioned by King Sejong the Great in 1437. The museum also displays replicas of more than 440 rare early movable metal type pieces, some of the oldest pieces still known to exist, many of them predating Johannes Gutenberg's own similar invention. These artifacts are part of a massive cache of 1,700 pieces discovered bundled in a ceramic jar — alongside components of historical water clocks and early Korean firearms.

The exhibition hall, located in the basement of the G1 Seoul building, will be open every day except Mondays. Admission is free.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.