A concert begins with an introduction. It’s a violin piece by Paganini, so renowned for his mastery of the instrument that some claim that he must have sold his soul to the devil.

This performance is a part of Dr. Oh’s Fun Classic, a monthly event hosted by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and the Seoul Museum of History. The musician featured on August 19th was Paganini.

It’s a temporary concert held at the museum lobby, but these performances are always filled to the capacity, because the admissions are free and they require no reservation.

- I liked violinist Jeong Ji-ye’s performance, it was my first time listening to it. It was different to hear the classical music in a museum.
- It was great. Children had a good time listening to the music, because the professor gave such a great explanation. They were able to focus well.

The Seoul Museum of History is where people can enjoy free concerts as well as get an overview of the capital city’s 600-year-old history.

The Seoul Museum of History is located in central Seoul. Exit on Seodaemun station or Gwanghwamun station of subway line 5 and walk toward Gyeonghui Palace to find the museum. This is where you can learn about the history and culture of Seoul from the prehistoric times through the Joseon Dynasty to the modern day. Director of the Seoul Museum of History Kang Hong-bin explains more about the museum.

You can learn just about everything about the city of Seoul at the Seoul Museum of History – how the city was founded, what kind of changes it underwent, how it became such a great metropolis, and even its geographical and spatial features. There are three floors. The first floor houses five exhibition halls for special showings and a hall for donated items is situated across from it. The second floor is devoted mainly to education purposes and this is where many educational programs are held. On the third floor, there are exhibitions which show Seoul throughout the times, from a newly founded capital city 600 years ago to a modern city of today.

Opened in May 2002, the Seoul Museum of History stands on 7,434 square meters of land and measures 20,130 square meters in total area. The three-story building houses exhibition halls, audio and visual centers, an auditorium, resting areas, and a museum souvenir shop. The museum has displays of actual artifacts as well as dioramas, life-like models, and other digital features to allow visitors a full spectrum of museum experience. Let’s start today’s tour up in the third floor.

The permanent exhibition hall located on the third floor is divided into four sections – Seoul as the capital of Joseon, lives of Seoul residents, culture of Seoul, and the growth of Seoul as a metropolitan. Here’s Mr. Sa Jong-min in charge of museum education and PR.

These permanent displays show how the city of Seoul was formed and how its people lived. Being the capital of Joseon, the city was home to the kings and their families. So the displays not only feature the lives of ordinary Seoul residents, but also the centuries-old royal culture and other aspects like literature, science and arts in the Joseon era.

In the section for Seoul as the capital, visitors can also see the clothes worn by Seoul denizens during the Joseon Dynasty as well as their food, houses, everyday items, and even currencies. The Seoul culture section is again divided into smaller areas of royal house, academia, and arts and culture. This is where visitors can view cultural goods and artworks such as ceramics, paintings, writings, and books. The museum is particularly proud of its relics from Gyeonghui Palace, royal residence that disappeared during the Japanese occupation. Here’s Director Kang Hong-bin for further explanation.

The museum stands on the site where Gyeonghui Palace once stood. There were five palaces in Seoul, four of which still remain today, but one palace, Gyeonghui Palace, where King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo lived in the late Joseon Dynasty, was obliterated during the Japanese colonial reign. So we are very proud to have the rare books written by King Jeongjo and the maps drawn by renowned Joseon era cartographer Kim Jeong-ho in our collection. There is also a collection of donated records from Unhyeon Palace, which provides detailed description of Seoul in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It wouldn’t do the city full justice just viewing these displays. So the museum set up a special digital device that provides further explanation about a relic when it’s touched by visitors.

When a person touches an artifact, an image pops up in front of the artifact to give additional information about it. These visual props help visitors get better understanding of historical facts.

- When my children touched this ink stone, a screen showed how people used it. It’s much more interesting for children and they remember more about the experience. It’s more effective and fun.

Next to the touch museum, there is a place where children can indulge in do-it-yourself projects. Today’s computer-savvy children have a great time assembling porcelain pieces, and building houses with traditional roof tiles and even Sungryemun.

- I’m putting these porcelain pieces together.
- I’m building a house.

Children can weigh and measure different items using old measuring equipment. They can also see how Joseon’s old sundial, Yangguilgu, is operated and learn how to read a compass.

This is a model of Seoul, made to the scale of one to 1,500. This model shows just about everything about the city. You may think all the buildings and structures look like matchboxes, but all of them are exact replicas of the actual photos taken from above. Also the audio-visual feature of this exhibition is the laser light, which can spotlight the area I touch on the search screen.

Visitors can have a full aerial view of the entire 605.25 square-kilometer expanse of Seoul. It’s as if you are looking down on the city from a helicopter. All the structures are intricately made to the scale of one to 1,500. Although scaled down considerably, this model of Seoul still measures over 317 square meters in area. Decks are set up around the model to help visitors view the model from all sides. On the ceiling are cutting-edge lighting facilities, which shoot out red laser lights on the spots selected by visitors on the large search screens.

- I looked up Geumok Girls’ High School and you can see my house here. It’s really amazing. I knew only my neighborhood even when I’ve been living in Seoul for a long time. But now that I can see other parts of the city at a glance, the city has become more endearing to me. It’s fun.
- It’s nice to see the entire city. I looked up my old alma mater, too. It feels more enjoyable and personal when I can see my old school, and not just big historic sites.

On the first floor, there is a special exhibition hall. It’s the Exhibition Hall of Donated Collections. Under the motto of “a museum made by people,” the museum had launched a movement urging people to donate old relics and artifacts stashed away in their homes. The campaign collected some 20,160 pieces of relics, about half of which were donated by old families of Seoul. Here’s Director Kang Hong-bin again.

This museum focuses on the history of transformation of the city and its people. So we asked people to donate old relics and documents and other materials from their past. The public response was tremendous. The government of Seoul also donated past records of its construction projects.

Special exhibitions are held on the first floor. These days an exhibition titled “Jongno Elegy” is underway to mark several historical milestones, such as the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, the 50th anniversary of the April 19th civil uprising, and the 40th anniversary of the Gangnam development project.

The Jongno Elegy exhibition features some of the old fixtures found in the old Jongno neighborhood, such as nostalgic coffee shops and people’s favorite restaurants. Visitors can see the entire stretch of Jongno. Here’s Ms. Jo Sun-kyung of Exhibition Operation Division.

Jongno was the city’s only downtown area before the Gangnam area was developed. There were government-endorsed markets and various shops in Jongno, which naturally turned the area into the commercial and historical center of Joseon. A large part of our collection consists of individual donations. We asked old residents and stores of Jongno to donate their memorabilia. Renaissance coffee shop, an old neighborhood fixture that is no longer, has donated everything to the Korea National Archives of the Arts and they have lent us some of the relics. Also we have restored some old walls scrawled with customers’ sentiments of the past six decades given by a restaurant about to relocate. Jongno is also known for its tailors. Many of them have operated in the area for more than a century, and they have also given us many artifacts. Lots of photos and records from Nakwon shopping mall and long-established Boryeong Pharmacy came our way as well.

Seoul’s old map Suseonjeondo can be seen at the bottom of the water fountain in front of the museum. This is a great place for children to cool down and study history at the same time.

- The water fountain shows an old map. It’s good for playing and learning.

About 50 meters away from the fountain stands an electric cable train, an important means of transportation for the people of Seoul from the 1930s to 1968. This electricity-powered train measures 13.7 meters in length, 2.4 meters in width, and 3.2 meters in height, and weighs in at about 18 tons, and was capable of transporting up to 100 passengers at a time. To add more reality to the display, the train features life-sized mannequins of a mother handing over a lunchbox to her son inside the car. This scene is a perfect backdrop for a photo opportunity.

The tour of the Seoul Museum of History does not end here. A leisurely stroll around Gyeonghui Palace beyond the museum building is a great way to wrap up the day. Here’s Director Kang Hong-bin.

Outside areas are also designed to educate people. Visitors can see an electric train car, relics from an ancient market in Jongno, and even some artifacts from Unhyeon Palace. There are also some traces of an old palace behind the museum building, since that’s where Gyeonghui Palace used to be. The palace’s main chamber Sungjeongjeon has been fully restored to provide a glimpse into its glorious past.

The Seoul Museum of History is open from nine in the morning to nine in the evening. How about a tour of the museum before embarking on an exploration of Seoul? You may get a better understanding of and a stronger attachment to the centuries-old capital city.