Introducing the National Hangeul Museum

Hello everyone. Right now you are looking at the National Hangeul Museum, located next to the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Here there are various cultural exhibitions on Hangeul which showcase what we have covered in this course, such as the principles of character creation and the creation process. The National Hangeul Museum Permanent Exhibition Hall is divided into three sections. The first section “The Creation of Hangeul” introduces the creation process, history, and principles of character creation behind Hangeul If you look on the floor you’ll see engravings of Hangeul consonants and vowels. There is also an experience center where visitors can experience Hangeul’s principle of combination. The second section “Easily Learned and Conveniently Used” exhibits artifacts written in Hangeul after its promulgation.

Many of these books are the eonhae books, or translations of Chinese books into Korean and written in Hangeul. These were mostly religious scriptures during the early Joseon era. Later in the Joseon period, foreign teaching materials, literary works, books on military strategy and medicine were also translated and spread. You can see documents where Hangeul was directly used as a form of communication. There is even a letter by Jeongjo, the fifth king of Joseon, written in crooked letters when he was five years old to his aunt. The third section “Globalization of Hangeul” shows Hangeul being used in various ways in the modern age. There is an array of interesting exhibits showcasing Hangeul and word processors, keyboards, calligraphy development, Hangeul advertisements and literature.

After viewing the Permanent Exhibition Hall in second floor, you can take the escalator near the exit to the third floor and view the Special Exhibition Hall. On left is the Children’s Museum where kids can play and experience Hangeul. On the right is the Special Exhibition Hall. After the Special Exhibition Hall walk down the left hallway to see the Learning Center where non-Koreans and those unfamiliar with Hangeul can easily learn and experience it. Visitors can choose from various languages to hear the explanations of Hangeul’s principles. After exiting the Hangeul Museum, on the right side of the building is an annex exhibition hall. Be sure to check out the creative ideas on display here too.

This class we explored the National Hangeul Museum. Admission is free and there are free guided tours several times a day so if you’re interested in Hangeul, don’t miss out. This concludes the introduction to the National Hangeul Museum. Thank you.