A Special Experience at Museums and Art Galleries Nationwide

Government to Host 'Museum and Art Gallery Week' from 14th to 23rd
Themed Trips, Programs Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Offered
Major Exhibitions Free to Enter... Discounts Available for Some Paid Exhibitions

National public, government, and private museums and art galleries across the country are offering various programs and discount benefits simultaneously.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Museum Culture Foundation announced on the 12th that the "Museum and Art Gallery Week" will be held for ten days from the 14th to the 23rd. The event is designed to provide comfort and rest to the public weary from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will guide visitors into a rich cultural world while adhering to social distancing and safety guidelines.

The opening ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. on the 13th at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. On the same day, in front of the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the "Museum Out on the Street" will be unveiled. This is a media art installation measuring 35 meters wide and 3.5 meters high, created by world-renowned artist Lee Lee-nam and Collage Plus (Jang Seung-hyo & Kim Yong-min), who transformed exhibition works into a giant LED display. A Ministry of Culture official said, "The works of museums and art galleries, which used to remain in the past, now communicate with the public like living beings," and added, "We expect it to bring unexpected joy and comfort to the people."

The programs are broadly divided into themed museum and art gallery tours, diversity and inclusion enhancement programs, and an education fair. The themed museum and art gallery tours will be held in nine regions. These include "Beautiful Gangneung, Beautiful Five Senses Tour (Gangwon Gangneung)," "A Journey into Folk Beliefs Starting in Gongju (Chungnam Gongju)," "Busan Artists' Study (Busan)," "Daegaya and the Seven Dwarfs (Gyeongbuk Goryeong)," "Ceramic Culture Tour with a Curator (Gyeonggi Gwangju)," "The City is a Museum (Gyeonggi Hwaseong)," "Confession and Emotion Museum Tour (Jeonbuk Iksan)," "Art Tour with Jeju Mythology: Gotjawal Fantasy (Jeju)," and "The Hundred-Li Island Path Folktales from Yeosu to Goheung (Yeosu·Goheung)."

Diversity and inclusion enhancement programs include Ilmin Museum of Art's "Ghost Coming 2020," War and Women's Human Rights Museum's "Hello, Stranger!," Koreana Museum of Art's "Presences," Ewha Womans University Natural History Museum's "Discovering Our Country's Creatures Together: Meeting with Artists," Gyeonggi Museum of Art's "Habatul Baraka: Allow the Migration of Seeds," Art Center White Block's "Museum Story Map," Um Museum's "Future Empathy and Generational Empathy Project," Young Eun Museum of Art's "Immersed in the Mysterious World of Art, I am Also a Contemporary Artist," Yangpyeong County Museum of Art's "Together for Value, Together for All," Dot Museum's "Dialogue with the World," The Remi Museum's "Beautiful Flight," Wooyang Museum of Art's "Save Me, Holmes!," Lee Museum of Art's "Eye of the Mind ? Touching the Exhibition," Jangsu Museum of Art's "Stories of Soil, Stone, Wood, and Water," and Dolharbang Museum of Art's "The World is a School," among others. The education fair will be held at the National Gyeongju Museum, twelve museums and art galleries in Chungcheongbuk-do (online), and the National Museum of Korea's Open Yard.

The National Museum of Korea will hold the International Museum Conference and the National Museum Professionals Conference in the Education Center and the Grand Auditorium, respectively. A bazaar will be held in the Open Yard, and cultural products will be sold at a 10% discount at the cultural product shop. In the Euddeum Hall, a special Liberation Day concert will be held on the 15th, and a traditional Korean music performance on the 22nd. All exhibitions except for "New Treasures Have Arrived, New National Treasures Exhibition (Special Exhibition Hall)" will be open free of charge. These include "The Korean War and the National Museum ? Protecting and Continuing (Joseon 2 Room, Middle and Early Modern History Hall)," "The Prime Minister Who Bore the Era: Baeksa Yi Hang-bok Family Donation Exhibition (Calligraphy and Painting Hall II, Calligraphy and Painting Hall)," "Flower Rain ? Treasure No. 1270 Yeongcheon Eunhaesa Hanging Scroll (Buddhist Painting Hall, Calligraphy and Painting Hall)," "Clapping Hands in Admiration: Kim Hong-do's Genre Paintings Album (Permanent Exhibition Hall, 2nd Floor, Calligraphy and Painting Hall)," "Egypt ? Stories of Life, Death, and Resurrection (3rd Floor, Permanent Exhibition Hall)," and "Vietnam National Museum of History Collection Exhibition (Kaneko Kazushige Room)," among others.

Major museums and art galleries in Seoul also offer various exhibitions free of charge. These include the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's "Unfamiliar War: For Things That Could Not Be Restored," the National Museum of Modern Art's "Calligraphy in the Museum: Korean Modern and Contemporary Calligraphy Exhibition," the National Folk Museum's "Finding Folklore in Gisan's Genre Paintings," the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History's "If May Day Comes Again" and "Removing Rusted Barbed Wire," the National Hangeul Museum's "The Path Hangeul Has Walked," and the National Palace Museum of Korea's "New Royal Porcelain, Western-style Porcelain Used in the Joseon Royal Court." The National Chuncheon Museum will open "Iron with Buddhist Spirit, Gangwon Iron Buddha," and the National Gongju Museum will open "Baekje Gilt-bronze Shoes, Traveling 1,000 Ri" free of charge. The National Buyeo Museum, National Cheongju Museum, National Gyeongju Museum, National Jeonju Museum, and National Naju Museum will also waive admission fees for permanent exhibitions.

Discount benefits are provided for some paid exhibitions. When purchasing tickets through Culture N Ticket, museums offer a 40% discount (up to 5 tickets per person), and art galleries offer a discount of 1,000 to 3,000 KRW (up to 2 tickets per person). For more details, please refer to the official Museum and Art Gallery Week website.