#National Museum of Korea

[letterkive]

Seoul, you have my heart ♡

[nhdiary]

[baebeylik]

Cotton armor from the late Joseon dynasty of Korea. It was a bulletproof armor worn by Koreans against westerners between the 1860s and 1870s.

National Museum of Korea.

[duck-anarchy]

Duck-shaped vessels (proto-Three Kingdoms Period, 3rd century) National Museum of Korea

[kyndaris]

The Pursuit of Materialism

After a day out at the DMZ, bleachpanda and I chose to start our last full day in Seoul with a gentle stroll through the National Museum of Korea. While I would have preferred to have done it on our first day, at the time, bleachpanda and I were still confused on the metro system. But by the third day, I'd taken a map at the confusing web of lines and had what many would describe as an epiphany.

With my guidance, for Google Maps would not plot out a route, bleachpanda and I managed to arrive at the National Museum unmolested. Better yet, admission was free!

So, off we trotted, coming to understand the history of Korea and how it came to be: from the Paleolithic period all the way to the Empire of Korea. Not an easy task, I assure you, but fascinating in how nation states come into being.

Fun fact: the first state ever to emerge on the Korean Peninsula was Gojoseon. It came to dominate the entire northwest region of the peninsula during the Bronze Age, even stretching as far as Laoning, China. When it fell around 108 BCE, several smaller states emerged including Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo and Dongye.

But what proved most fascinating to me was how Korea's history was intricately connected with that of China including they myths. Of note were the Four Guardian Deities, which I only ever happened to discover from reading Fushigi Yuugi and later Kylie Chan's novels: the White Tiger, the Red Phoenix, the Black Tortoise and the Azure/ Blue Dragon.

These Guardian Deities are often believed to be related to the four cardinal directions and were said to ward off evil influences to ensure harmony between yin and yang energies. And in 5th century Goguryeo tombs, they were portrayed as symbols of the afterlife.

As time went on, several dynasties rose and fell including Korea's own version of the Three Kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla). This came as a bit of a surprise to me considering every time the Three Kingdoms are ever mentions, they mean the tripartite divison among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu that occurred from 220 to 280 AD, and which became a historical novel: Romance of the Three Kingdoms were heroes such as Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu are known.

What became clear to me as bleachpanda and I wandered the halls of the museum was that Korea was steeped in a shared history with its neighbours, China and Japan. This was most evident in the realm of religion and the spread of Buddhism. At the National Museum, we saw many a scriptures and steles written in Chinese characters. I also noted the similarities between the attire worn by Korean nobility and traditional clothing for Chinese emperors. All of this, suffice it to say, was fascinating to see and read about.

Once we had travelled through the different eras of Korea, bleachpanda and I toured the third floor of the Museum and looked at the various artworks of other ancient cultures. These included Mesopotamia, China, Japan, Central Asia, Greece and Rome. As a student of ancient history back when I was in high school, I was disappointed to see no statue portraying Augustus. Marcus Aurelius, bless his heart, appeared twice!

And yet there was no love for Julius Caesar's successor.

Unacceptable!

From the museum, bleachpanda and I took the metro to Hongdae Street and finally start on some much needed shopping - her words, not mine.

Our first stop after getting out of the metro station was Kakao Friends. It was here I that I swiftly learned the names of the cutesy characters on display and who were nearly everywhere in Seoul, if you simply knew where to look. After perusing the available merchandise, I quickly fell in love with Jordy while bleachpanda thought Apeach was the cutest character in the lineup.

As this was our first introduction to Kakao Friends, we didn't purchase anything. Rather, bleachpanda had her sights on obtaining as much Korean skincare as possible and she quickly beelined for the closest Olive Young to hand over all her precious Korean won.

Once bleachpanda had bought out the whole shop, we refuelled at a local Korean barbeque restaurant where 27,800 Won was enough for an All-You-Can-Eat Beef set. Astoundingly cheap considering it can cost upwards of $60 AUD.

Filled to the brim with beef, bleachpanda and I strolled down Hongdae Street, stopping in at multiple shops to check out earrings (spoiler alert: we stopped at many a jewellery shop for bleachpanda to buy earrings. These were mostly for herself but she also bought some for friends and family) or whatever else that had caught bleachpanda's eye (she bought a Nezuko figurine - which would end up taking up far too much space in her luggage). We also stopped at the Pop Mart flagship store where I purchased a few Disney blind box figurines, as well as one featuring Lord of the Rings (I got a Balrog).

We made our way back to our hotel at ENA Suite Namdaemun by 5:30 PM to recover from our shopping trip and to offload all the gear bleachpanda bought (including copious amounts of skincare). At 6 PM, we ventured out again, this time heading to the nearby Myeongdong, which is known for being one of Seoul's main shopping districts. It was also where bleachpanda essentially spent all her Korean won on additional skincare products and more goddamn earrings (she probably has enough to open up her own store).

After I directed us to Myeongdong Cathedral, we also tried some of the street food available to us. This included an octopus skewer and various sweets.

As we were heading to Busan the next day, I managed to corral the two of us back to our hotel by 8:30 PM. Then it was a quick flurry to repack our luggage over all the purchases bleachpanda bought as we prepared for the train journey down to the second largest city in South Korea, and which has an established reputation as the city of film.

[bts-bangtanies]

BTS @ ‘Dear Class of 2020’ virtual ceremony and performance of “Boy with Luv”, “Spring Day” and “Mikrokosmos” at National Museum of Korea - 8 June 2020

[adventure-in-korea]

Outing on Sunday, 18.12.2022

Outside area of National Museum of Korea

[without-ado]

Happy Year of the Dragon

l 운룡도 Dragon in Clouds l Joseon l 19th Century l National Folk Museum of Korea

[nhdiary]

[panicinthestudio]

Bronze Brazier with Demon Face Decoration

Goryeo Dynasty, Korea

Bronze

H. 13.0cm, (mouth), D. 14.5

National Treasure 145

This brazier, in the shape of Korea’s traditional cauldron, has three faces decorated with demon faces expressed by openwork and incising techniques. It was designed to provide air through the mouth of a demon-face carved openwork. The body of the brazier is supported by three animal legs, each decorated with the face of a demon. The form and the techniques used to decorate this brazier make it a rare item.

Collection of the National Museum of Korea

Bronze Brazier with Demon Face Decoration, Goryeo Dynasty, Korea - National Museum of Korea

[fatherlybeast]

Sword, Korea, 17th-19th century

from The National Museum of Korea

[fashionbooksmilano]

The Collection of the National Folk Museum of Korea

GNA Communication, Seoul 2006, 328 pages, 23,1 x 28,8 cm, ISBN 978-89-950808-3-2 

euro 90,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

A prospect on the Korean Lifestyle Themed by the life stories of Koreans, the catalogue closely reflects the life passage of Korean from the birth to the death. This publication is also a result of the museums' collecting activity for last 14 years after the re-location to the current museum building in 1993.

The Story of our lives in Catalogue In the catalogue, total of 638 representing items including several national designated cultural properties were selected to show the daily life of Korean among 85,000 collections. Consisted of 5 main chapters, ‘Sustaining Life’ - ‘Supporting Life’ - ‘Forming Life’ - ‘Enjoying Life’ - ‘Ending Life’, the composition of catalogue encompasses the themes as follows; Life, Housing, Clothing, Food, Agriculture, Commerce, Family, Education, Success, Religion, Entertainment, Hobbies, Handicrafts, Funeral, Ancestral Rites, etc. Representing images and brief outline are given to focus on the importance and the meaning of each object and outlines are written by the specialists of the NFMK together with the museum's collecting activities.

01/05/23

orders to:     booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

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[ososperezosos]

October 11, 2023.

[panicinthestudio]

Melon-shaped ewer with bamboo decoration, first half of the 12th century, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), Korea, stoneware with carved and incised design under celadon glaze, H. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Maebyeong (plum bottle) decorated with cranes and clouds, late 13th century, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), Korea, stoneware with inlaid design under celadon glaze, H. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm); Diam. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); Diam. of base 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Celadon Ewer in the Shape of a Fish-dragon, Goryeo dynasty, Korea, H. 24.3cm, (bottom), D. 10.3cm, National Museum of Korea

Gourd-shaped ewer decorated with waterfowl and reeds, early 12th century, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), Korea, stoneware with carved and incised design under celadon glaze, H. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); W. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

goryeo dynasty celadon ceramics (korea)

[bts-bangtanies]

BTS @ ‘Dear Class of 2020’ virtual ceremony and performance of “Boy with Luv”, “Spring Day” and “Mikrokosmos” at National Museum of Korea - 8 June 2020

[kesara]

Korea 1950 - 1953 [IMG_2797] by Kesara Rathnayake Via Flickr: National Army Museum (Te Mata Toa) - Waiouru