March 2nd, 3 PM Annex Opening Ceremony Held
Main Building of Modern History Museum to Fully Open This December
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] The Busan Modern History Museum, which closed the “Old Busan Modern History Museum” in July 2021, has been newly renovated as the “Busan Modern History Museum Annex” and will open on Wednesday, March 1.
The second floor of the Busan Modern and Contemporary History Museum annex, designed as a complex humanities and cultural space combining the functions of a library, archive, and exhibition hall. (Exposed ceiling and arched seating)
Busan City is remodeling the old Bank of Korea Busan Headquarters and the old Busan Modern History Museum to create the Busan Modern History Museum as a new type of museum, a historical complex cultural space.
After the start of the cultural heritage repair construction of the old Bank of Korea Busan Headquarters, cracks were found in some columns and beams, delaying completion due to reinforcement work for safety. Therefore, the annex remodeled from the old Busan Modern History Museum will open first.
The old Busan Modern History Museum is a Western-style modern building constructed in 1929. During the Japanese colonial period, it was the Busan branch of the Oriental Development Company, and after liberation, it operated as the Busan American Cultural Center for about 50 years, making it a symbolic space of Busan’s modern history.
The city decided in 2017 to develop this site, which was returned to Korea in 1999 and used as the Busan Modern History Museum, into a museum together with the old Bank of Korea Busan Headquarters. Remodeling of the interior of the old Busan Modern History Museum began in March 2020, and the space was completed at the end of December 2022.
To reveal the building’s structure as it was in 1929, the ceiling of the second floor, which had a low height due to ceiling finishing materials, was exposed. Part of the second-floor slab (concrete floor) along the large round columns was removed to create a sense of openness, presenting a distinctly different appearance from the old Busan Modern History Museum.
The annex was created as a complex humanities and cultural space combining the functions of a library, archive, and exhibition hall.
The first floor houses about 10,000 books related to Busan’s modern history and archival materials, while the second floor features a small exhibition space where visitors can learn about the history and structure of the annex building to aid understanding of the space.
Additionally, to provide a comfortable resting place for citizens in the old downtown area where rest spaces are scarce, unique seating and book reading areas modeled after the building’s window shapes, as well as a children’s reading area, have been prepared.
Also, under the themes of “A Library Where Knowledge Becomes Wisdom” and “A Cultural Space Created Together with Citizens,” various humanities-related programs such as book curation exhibitions, book talks, cultural performances, and tours will be operated.
From the 17th to June 15, visitors can experience the book curation exhibition commemorating the annex opening, titled “Books of Busan ? Emotions of the Era, Faces of the Region,” at the special bookshelf on the first floor of the annex.
“Book-Curation” is a compound word of “Book” and “Curation,” meaning the selection of several books on a specific theme to suggest to readers.
This exhibition features about 40 books and magazines published in Busan during the Korean War in the 1950s or dealing with Busan.
Representative materials include “Splendid Hell” by Busan writer Kim Malbong, “Hyundae Munhak” (Modern Literature), Korea’s longest-running literary magazine founded in 1954 (from issue 4 in 1954 to issue 818 as of February 2023), and works such as Kim Dong-ri’s “Milda Won Era” and poet Jo Byung-hwa’s poetry collection “Bedroom of Shells.”
Most of the materials are valuable first editions and inaugural issues, offering a rare and unique viewing experience not easily accessible in daily life.
This exhibition is planned to allow visitors to read various emotions of the era along with the scenery of Busan about 70 years ago by excerpting writings from diverse origins, occupations, and generations published not only in professional authors’ books but also in general magazines. It is expected to serve as an opportunity to confirm the role and status of Busan, the wartime refuge capital, which connected and revived Korea’s culture and arts that were at risk of disruption due to the war.
The “Making a Wartime Textbook Experience,” which allows visitors to directly experience the harsh conditions of the wartime refuge period, will also be held in connection with the exhibition.
The opening ceremony of the Busan Modern History Museum Annex will be held at 3 p.m. on March 2.
Local humanities and cultural institution and organization officials are expected to attend, and the general public can also participate.
At the opening event, a “Citizen’s Book Tower (冊塔)” decorated with about 1,000 books stacked with hopes for the successful operation of the Busan Modern History Museum and cards written by citizens expressing their wishes for the annex will be unveiled.
As a special commemorative performance, media art titled “Window, Passage of History,” utilizing the annex’s arched windows, columns, and parts of the walls symbolizing its long history, will present the past, present, and future of Busan’s old downtown through the annex space.
A representative of the Busan Modern History Museum said, “Since the pilot operation began on January 27 to reflect citizens’ opinions in the museum’s operation before the official opening, the number of visitors has reached about 4,000, showing the strong interest of citizens in the Busan Modern History Museum. We plan to expand communication between the public and private sectors to meet these expectations and will strive to contribute to revitalizing the old downtown through cooperation with local humanities and cultural organizations such as Bosudong Bookstore Alley and Ddottadoga.”
The old Bank of Korea Busan Headquarters, which will become the main building of the Busan Modern History Museum, is scheduled to fully open in December after the completion of cultural heritage repair construction and exhibition installation.
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