Hidden treasure trove opens its doors as Seoul unveils first integrated heritage vault

Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong in Gangwon Province / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

A vast repository of art, history and cultural treasures usually kept out of public view is preparing to welcome visitors for the first time.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that the Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong, the city’s first integrated storage facility for museum and gallery collections, will conduct a pilot operation through July 22, ahead of its official opening in September.

Located in Hoengseong County in Gangwon Province, the center was built to consolidate, preserve, research and share cultural assets held by Seoul’s museums and art institutions.

During the monthlong trial period, visitors will be able to freely explore key public spaces, including an open storage area, outdoor exhibition grounds and a reference room.

Admission is free, and the facility will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Mondays.

The center currently stores about 70,000 artifacts and artworks and has the capacity to hold as many as 720,000 items.

Among its most distinctive features is an open storage facility displaying about 2,600 objects from major institutions, including the Seoul Museum of History, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art and the Seoul Museum of Art.

Unlike traditional exhibitions, the space allows visitors to observe collections in an actual storage environment, offering a closer look at how cultural assets are preserved and managed.

The facility also provides QR code-based information on individual items and video content explaining the storage process.

Visitors can view works by textile artist Keum Kee-sook, whose exhibition drew strong public interest at the Seoul Museum of Craft Art between December and the first half of this year.

The city will also operate curator-led tours during the pilot period through advance reservations.

“Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong was created not only as a preservation facility but also as a cultural space to be enjoyed by citizens and local communities,” the city said.

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