Special exhibition of Bukchon's hundred-year history viewed through The Memories of Eleven Families in Bukchon
- Seoul Museum of History to hold a special exhibition: The Memories of Eleven Families in Bukchon from July 19 to October 6
- Exhibitions showing Bukchon's hundred years of history amidst the rapid changes of the late modern period, as well as the stories of the eleven families that lived through that era
▶ Hundred years of Bukchon (1860-1960): From the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which helped restore the concept of place-ness based on the dual-palace system, to the post-Korean War period during which Bukchon residents began to experience drastic changes
▶ Eleven families in Bukchon: Residences in Bukchon that have been selected with consideration of families, periods of residence, neighborhood and housing types
- The Bukchon Story which compile stories of the daily lives and memories of the eleven families
- Exhibition featuring rented items and articles owned by the families of the eleven families, presenting a number of items that will be shown to the public for the first time
□ Located between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, Bukchon was the closest neighborhood to the royal palaces and one of the best places to live within the city walls. Starting in the early Joseon Dynasty, the area came to symbolize authority and tradition, making it the most desired place in which to reside by those in power. Such geographical conditions of Bukchon have produced a spatial history that is different from all of the other areas of Seoul. Up until the 1860s, Bukchon's status as the place of power had been maintained without change, but during the century that followed, it experienced rapid and drastic changes. As it endured a transition into a modern society through the opening of ports, the enlightenment era, the Japanese occupation and colonization, national liberation and war, Bukchon has seen changes in not only its urban space but also of its residents.
□ The special exhibition, The Memories of Eleven Families in Bukchon, reflects the history of Bukchon through the daily lives and memories of the residents from the eleven houses who lived in the area during Bukchon's rapidly changing century (1860-1960). The eleven families introduced at the exhibit tell the hundred-year history of Bukchon through their diverse lives, which are vivid testimonies on how Bukchon as we know it today has formed.
① Family of Wansun Gun (Yi Jae-wan), a kindred of the royal family and the son of Heung wan Gun, the second-eldest brother of Heungseon Daewongun
② Family of Yi Jong-yeol, having resided near a washplace in Wonseo-dong in the early 1900s
③ Family of Yun Bo-seon, having guarded Anguk-dong for one hundred years
④ Family of Oh Bong-bin, the founder of the Joseon Art Museum during the Japanese occupation period
⑤ Family of Hong Sung-hak of Gyesan Oriental Medical Clinic, a place for visitors and guests in Gye-dong and Jae-dong
⑥ Family of Baek In-je, Professor at Gyeongseong Medical School and founder of Inje University Paik Hospital
⑦ Family and descendants of the House of Min Yeong-hwan and Min Yeong-chan who had official residency in Bukchon while serving at Iwangjik
⑧ Family of Park Han-ki, who lived in an urban hanok in Bukchon
⑨ Family of Bong Hae-ryong, a daegeum musician of Iwangjik aakbu.
⑩ Family of Im In-sik, war photographer and a documentary photographer of Bukchon
⑪ Family of Kim Chang-won, who moved to Wonseo-dong after the Korean War and ran Wonseo Barber Shop to make a living