Seoul Museum of History Produces Sign Language Exhibition Commentary Video... MOU with Seoul School for the Deaf

First in Korea and Abroad: Hearing-Impaired Students Fully Participate in Creating Tailored Content
Videos to Be Produced by December and Released on YouTube, Distributed to Hearing-Impaired Organizations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 9th, the Seoul Museum of History announced that it will collaborate with the National Seoul School for the Deaf to jointly produce sign language exhibition commentary videos to improve museum accessibility for the hearing-impaired and lower barriers to cultural enjoyment. This is the "Listening to Hanyang with the Eyes" project.

This project is differentiated from existing sign language commentary videos in that hearing-impaired students participate in the entire video production process to create content tailored to the perspective of the hearing-impaired. It is the first sign language commentary video produced by the Seoul Museum of History, and the direct involvement of hearing-impaired students in production is a new attempt unprecedented both domestically and internationally.

Conventionally, sign language commentary for cultural content provided at exhibition halls or museums is usually produced by specialized institutions and interpreted by professional sign language interpreters.

The "Listening to Hanyang with the Eyes" project will continue until the end of this year. It will produce a sign language commentary video introducing the newly revamped permanent exhibition "Seoul in the Joseon Dynasty" (Zone 1), which was launched earlier this year.

Participating students will attend monthly workshops from March to December to learn about the exhibition content and will be involved in the entire process?from selecting artifacts to be introduced in the sign language commentary video, writing the script, translating into sign language, to the sign language narration itself.

This project is linked with the history curriculum and career experience program for hearing-impaired students ("Sign Language Storytellers") at the National Seoul School for the Deaf. The aim is to provide a deeper educational participation experience through practical history learning and future career exploration opportunities.

The jointly produced exhibition sign language commentary video will be released on the Seoul Museum of History's YouTube channel in December. It will also be distributed to hearing-impaired organizations so that the exhibition can be enjoyed without visiting the museum. Services within the museum are also under consideration.

The Seoul Museum of History and the National Seoul School for the Deaf have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for mutual cooperation to enhance the understanding of Seoul history among the hearing-impaired and improve museum accessibility. This is the first cooperation between the Seoul Museum of History and a special school.

Kim Eun-sook, principal of the National Seoul School for the Deaf, said, "I hope this cooperation between museums and special schools will expand throughout society and serve as a stepping stone to lowering the barriers of cultural facilities together." Bae Hyun-sook, director of the Seoul Museum of History, said, "With this agreement, we will strive to diversify the Seoul history education network and create a museum that everyone can enjoy."