Welcoming Citizens and Tourists as a Complex Cultural Space Combining Exhibitions, Experiences, and Education
From Permanent and Special Exhibitions to Panorama Media... Serving as a Silk Culture Platform
Jinju City in South Gyeongsang Province announced that Jinju Silk Museum, which showcases the history and culture of Jinju, the center of the silk industry in Korea, has been running its opening special exhibition, “Silk, Life: Embroidering Existence,” since November 6 last year and will continue it through March 29 this year.
Jinju Silk Museum is a silk-specialized cultural facility that opened on November 6, 2025, and serves as a comprehensive space presenting 100 years of Jinju silk’s industrial history, everyday culture, and artistic value.
It has been created as a complex cultural facility equipped with a permanent exhibition hall, a special exhibition hall, a panorama media room, an experience and education room, and a cafe, functioning as a silk culture platform where exhibitions, education, and hands-on experiences are combined.
◆ Shedding light on the cultural meaning of silk in everyday life
The current special exhibition, “Silk, Life: Embroidering Existence,” highlights the symbolism and aesthetic value that silk has held in human life events such as birth, marriage, and social activities, while also showing how silk, as a traditional textile, is being reinterpreted in contemporary design and fashion.
In particular, by bringing together traditional clothing and lifestyle artifacts, artworks, and contemporary design pieces, the exhibition presents the past, present, and future possibilities of silk in a multidimensional way.
◆ Introducing cases that connect traditional silk with contemporary fashion
This exhibition features designer Cho Sungmin, who works on the global fashion stage under the brand “Jaden Cho.” Designer Cho Sungmin was selected as the winner of the 21st Samsung Fashion & Design Fund (SFDF) in 2025 and has attracted international attention for expanding traditional materials into contemporary fashion.
By presenting the works of a designer who has received the most prestigious fashion design award in Korea in a contemporary exhibition, the museum is further strengthening its expertise and brand value. At the same time, by showcasing cases of convergence between traditional silk and contemporary fashion, the exhibition suggests the potential for the modern expansion of Jinju’s silk industry, while also expected to enhance the competitiveness of cultural tourism content and help attract more young visitors and design enthusiasts.
Through the participation of such contemporary designers, the museum aims to present both the cultural value of traditional silk and its potential for industrial expansion.
◆ Silk culture content experienced through exhibitions, media, and hands-on programs
The museum’s permanent exhibition, “Silk, Flowing Through Our Lives,” is designed to help visitors easily understand the history of silk, the weaving process, the development of the industry, and its scientific characteristics through real-life artifacts, video materials, and interactive content. Visitors can directly experience silk patterns and textures, allowing them to encounter the industrial and cultural value of silk in a three-dimensional way.
In addition, the “Panorama Media Room” uses three-sided media art to create a space where light, music, and images are harmonized, enabling visitors to vividly experience the delicate texture and splendid fashion beauty of Jinju silk and to sense the beauty of silk with all five senses. In the corridor space, there is a costume display from the film “One Night’s Dream,” presenting an example of how silk meets contemporary visual art.
The “Silk Art Zone” is currently hosting artist Lee Jinhee’s special exhibition, “Obang ? The Woven Cosmos.” This exhibition consists of works that visually unfold the cycle of life and the rhythm of existence based on the material properties of silk and the symbolism of the five traditional colors (Obangsaek). By combining folk-painting-style imagery with silk garments, video, sculpture, and painting, it creates a space where tradition and modernity, materiality and spirituality coexist. Through this, silk is presented not merely as a “clothing material” but as an expanded artistic medium in its own right.
The “Education and Experience Room” operates ongoing hands-on programs for a wide range of visitors, including children, families, and teenagers. Programs such as making silk keyrings, creating silk mood lamps, and crafting silkworm cocoon dolls are designed as participatory experiences that allow visitors to touch and experience silk directly. During the Lunar New Year holiday period, special hands-on events were held, receiving a positive response from family visitors.
◆ Silk, evolving from industry to a cultural and tourism hub
Jinju City plans to continue showcasing not only the industrial significance of silk but also its potential as cultural and artistic content, with Jinju Silk Museum at the center. In particular, by linking experience and education programs with exhibition content, the city intends to further develop the museum into a cultural space that both citizens and tourists can enjoy together.
An official from Jinju City said, “Jinju Silk Museum is growing beyond a space that preserves the history and industry of silk into a complex cultural facility where culture and design meet,” adding, “We will continue to widely promote the value of Jinju’s silk culture through diverse exhibitions and programs that make use of silk.”
Meanwhile, Jinju Silk Museum is a specialized museum established to inherit and develop the silk history and traditions of Jinju, the center of Korea’s silk industry, and it continues to operate participatory content that combines exhibitions, hands-on activities, education, and cultural programs.
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