Step back in time to the historic Joseon Dynasty at the Korea Furniture Museum. Discover an exhibition of 10 relocated houses and 2,500 furniture pieces. The museum strives to showcase how Koreans lived in the past and promotes the beauty of the nation’s ancient history. It’s the creation of a former university professor that dedicated several decades to collecting furniture objects.
As you walk around the museum’s stunning gardens, notice the residences that have housed everyone from aristocrats to commoners and businessmen. Find parts taken from Changgyeong Palace, a humble hanok home and the original former house of Empress Sunjong. Peer out of the windows to see pristine tree-shaded gardens and Zen ponds. The views extend over the complex’s stone walls to Seoul’s congested rooftops and Bukhansan Mountain..
Each house is decorated with furniture that highlights the creativity and individuality of Koreans. Look for bookcases, chests of drawers and dinner tables made from various wood types. Spot folding screens ornamented with the mythical characters of Korean folk art. These screens were integral parts of birth, death and wedding ceremonies.
Tour the three-floor exhibition hall complementing the houses. It has rooms classified according to the period of the artifacts and explanations of how furniture is organized within a hanok.
Visits are by guided tour only. Book the tour prior to your arrival. The museum’s exclusivity has attracted a legion of celebrities, including the actor Brad Pitt and G20 leaders. President Xi Jinping of China and Korea’s ex-president Park Geun-hye have lunched here as well.
The museum is located in the Seongbuk District, north of Seoul’s city center. Get here by catching the metro to Hansung University station and taking a taxi from there. Free on-site parking is available.
Korea Furniture Museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday and has an admission fee. Guided tours in English take place four times a day. Book your tour via the museum’s official website and pay upon arrival.
