[Opinion] Anticipating the Soaring Pocheon Education with the Establishment of Pocheon City Museum

Pocheon Office of Education Supervisor Kim Seon-hwa

Today’s museums are no longer just spaces for collecting and exhibiting artifacts; they are evolving into complex cultural spaces that communicate with local communities and breathe life into them. A prime example of this is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, established in Bilbao, Spain. The museum became a world-renowned landmark immediately after its opening in 1997 and transformed the declining industrial city of Bilbao into a vibrant cultural city overnight.

The establishment of a museum in our region means not only enjoying various cultural benefits like the Bilbao case but also widely promoting the local history and culture, fostering pride and self-esteem among community members.

When I first came to Pocheon, as an educator, what saddened me most was the lack of cultural spaces where students could freely enjoy themselves. I have continuously pondered the need for spaces where students can fully experience and feel Pocheon’s history and traditions and creatively develop their own culture based on that.

Recently, when I heard the news that Mayor Baek Young-hyun of Pocheon is promoting the construction of the “Pocheon Municipal Museum” as one of the pledges of the 8th elected administration to elevate Pocheon into a “dignified humanities city” where all citizens can enjoy and experience a rich humanistic environment, my joy and anticipation were beyond words. The Pocheon Municipal Museum will have a profound impact on education throughout Pocheon, going beyond being a mere landmark.

The various educational programs operated by the museum will provide students with vibrant learning opportunities, and especially the educational content utilizing Pocheon’s unique artifacts will play a crucial role in helping students form their regional identity. Furthermore, the museum’s educational programs will be organically linked with school education, positively influencing the overall educational environment in Pocheon.

Additionally, the museum offers students new opportunities to design their career paths. Through docent training programs that assist in explaining exhibition artifacts, students will not only enjoy culture and gain volunteer experience but also encounter various professionals such as curators, conservators, and history tellers, serving as a catalyst for students to dream of new careers they had not previously considered.

Moreover, the museum will play an important role in supporting lifelong learning for all members of the local community, not just students. Various educational activities such as local culture lectures and history seminars for adults will be held at the museum, allowing students’ parents and local residents to participate in learning together, thereby contributing to the improvement of the educational and cultural levels of the local community.

The Pocheon Municipal Museum will be an important facility that can contribute to Pocheon education in many ways and will become a driving force for growth as a cultural and educational hub that everyone wants to visit. Therefore, Pocheon City should accelerate the construction of the municipal museum. Of course, there will be many difficulties during the establishment process, but I hope that these challenges will be wisely overcome and that the Pocheon Municipal Museum, which will embody Pocheon’s long history and tradition while becoming the center of education, will be built as soon as possible.