National Museum of Korea > Historic Site

사진제공-한국관광공사

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Course :  National Museum of Korea
Code : M14-H1-11-2
Cost : 15,000 won (groups of more than 20 members need counsel)
Starting numbers : 3 people (minimum)
Meeting place : Line 1, 4 IChon station, exit 2
Meeting time : 2:00PM
Event time : 14:00~17:00 PM
Ask : 02-3210-3265

◈  Tour of National Museum of Korea in advance

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At the National Museum of Korea, visitors can understand and appreciate the value of Korean history and culture through exhibitions. Collections offer a fascinating journey through thousands of years of history, from hand axes of the Paleolithic Age, to a splendid gold crown from the Three Kingdoms Period, celadon from the Goryeo Dynasty, paintings from the Joseon Dynasty, and so on.    Let’s go to the past!

◈ The Pensive Bodhisattva 

This is a pensive Bodhisattva and it is a National Treasure No.83.
It was excavated in Gyeongsangnam-do, and has a great possibility of being from the late sixth to early seventh century.
Typical of a pensive Bodhisattva; it is in a seated position with one leg across the other.
With this National Treasure No. 83 Pensive Bodhisattva, the right leg is folded on the left leg and the right elbow i
s put on the right knee. The Bodhisattva is thinking with its finger on its cheek.
The head is a little tilted and he is smiling.
This posture shows that the Bodhisattva is thinking about the life of a human.
This Bodhisattva is wearing a three mountain shaped crown. The upper body is naked and is only wearing
a simple necklace.
He is wearing a skirt, but it is very thin and shows his legs.
It has a well-balanced shape and exhibits an elegant and refined craftsmanship.
It has remarkable similarities with the Japanese wooden pensive Bodhisattva at the Koryuji Temple in Kyoto.
This wooden statue can be presumed to have been made in the Shilla Kingdom and sent to Japan.

◈ The Gilt-Bronze Incense Burner of Baekje

The gilt-bronze incense burner is a symbol of Baekje culture.
The burner shows the ideal world of Baekje people. It contains Buddhism, Taoism, and Yin-Yang theory.  Also it shows their skillful techniques. The incense burner can be classified into four parts. They are the phoenix-shaped knob, the mountain shaped lid, the lotus shaped body, and the support plate with a dragon. The lotus symbolized Buddhism. A phoenix and a dragon symbolized Yin-Yang theory. And mountains and old people symbolized Taoism.An incense burner of this kind has not been found anywhere else in the world. So, it is no wonder that it is called a masterpiece.

◈ Gold Crown

Shilla is called the Millennium Kingdom, as it existed for 992 years, almost a millennium
It enjoyed a flourishing Buddhist culture, as well as political independence from the Tang Dynasty of China.
Although Unified Shilla was the first nation to bring all kingdoms and tribes together as one, its ruling class became luxurious and settle for the present as time passed.
The numerous mounded tombs scattered around Gyeongju. They resemble grassy hills which were
 the major structures of Shilla.
These tombs were built by setting up a wooden chamber above ground, placing a coffin and burial goods in the chamber, and covering it with thick layers of large stone pebbles and then earth to form a mound. Therefore, it was difficult to rob this style of tomb and numerous luxurious artifacts were preserved.

Among them the gold crown stands out above the rest.
The gold crown was made in the Shilla Kingdom in the 5th century.
Of the 10 golden crowns in the world, the half of them are from Shilla.
The crown weighs more than one kilogram. The Shilla Kings probably did not wear the golden crowns like hats.
They were probably used for formal and ceremonial occasions.
It consists of the inner crown and the outer crown. The outer crown shows the typical gold crown of the Shilla period. The outer crown has the three lines shaped like tree branches in the front and the two lines shaped like deer antlers in the back. These represent the king’s holiness.
Bent jades and golden circle decks decorate the crown.
The crowns show that Shilla had advanced gold working techniques.

지도출처-국립중앙박물관