National Museum of Korea to Present Its Collections in an Accessible Way... First Topic: "Roof Tiles of the Three Kingdoms Period"

"Exploring History and Culture with the Museum"
to Be Held at the National Museum of Korea on May 7

The National Museum of Korea announced on April 25 that it will launch a new lecture series titled "Exploring History and Culture with the Museum" on May 7 at 3:00 p.m.

This program is designed to widely introduce and make accessible the diverse collections housed not only at the National Museum of Korea but also in storage facilities of national museums across the country. It aims to connect related cultural heritage and topics from the perspectives of communication and integration, and to share them with the public in a comfortable lecture format. There is no separate registration process for attendance; anyone can freely join on site on the day of the event.

The first topic of the lecture series is "Discussing Roof Tiles of the Three Kingdoms Period." The lecture will present academic findings on roof tiles, which are symbols of the architectural cultures of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, in an accessible manner.

The lecture on this day will consist of three presentations. The first presentation will be delivered by Kim Yusik, former director of the National Jeju Museum and an expert on Three Kingdoms Period roof tiles. He will discuss "The Function of Yeongmyosa Temple in Silla and Analysis of Works Attributed to Yangji." The presentation will focus on roof tiles excavated from the Yeongmyosa Temple site in Gyeongju and will highlight the artistic world of Yangji, a monk and craftsman who had a significant influence on Silla roof tiles and art.

The second presentation will be given by Yoon Yonghee, curator at the National Buyeo Museum, who will review the types and quantities of Goguryeo roof tiles in the collection of the National Museum of Korea by site, examine their patterns and manufacturing techniques, and introduce their characteristics and features. Kim Jinkyung, curator at the National Museum of Korea, will lead an in-depth discussion following this presentation.

Finally, Shin Mincheol, curator at the National Cheongju Museum, will review the status of investigations at Geumgangsa Temple site in Buyeo from the Japanese colonial period to the present, and will present the characteristics of Baekje roof tiles. Choi Kyunghwan, head of the curatorial department at the National Gongju Museum, will participate as a discussant to deepen the discussion.

Beginning with this lecture series, the National Museum of Korea will regularly operate "Exploring History and Culture with the Museum" in both the first and second halves of each year, selecting one topic for each period. This marks the starting point of an educational program intended to widely share new research findings in archaeology, history, and art with the general public and to broaden mutual understanding. The national museums plan to actively promote their collections through various means and to continuously create opportunities for everyone to easily access historical and cultural content.

Kim Jaehong, director of the National Museum of Korea, stated, "The 'Exploring History and Culture with the Museum' lecture series is a meaningful opportunity to organize and share the diverse academic research achievements of national museums across the country from an integrative perspective." He added, "We hope that this lecture series will inspire more people to take an interest in and deepen their understanding of Korea's ancient architectural culture."