2024 Winter Vol.75

Do you have a treasure you have been carrying for a long time? It does not have to be expensive and rare.

It could be something that reminds you of your childhood, something related to your experience of studying and working hard, or something that reminds you of your relationships with others. This object, which is your treasure, has a story. Can your story become history?

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History’s last special exhibition for 2024 has filled the space with private collections. The collections reflect stories and histories intertwined. History is born with meaning. However, not only the textbooks written by authorities make history. It is also not just the artifacts displayed in museums that are subject to history. This time, the exhibited items are not selected by the Museum—they are treasures chosen by different owners. In other words, in this exhibition, the owners will show the history they wrote themselves. The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History weaves these histories into themes that can be shared with visitors under the names of we and us.

Making of History

When you first enter the Exhibition Hall and turn left, you will be presented with a collection of 24 artists that explore five major themes of modern history— liberation and the Korean language; international exchanges between the people; tradition and history; democracy and freedom; and ideological conflict and reconciliation. Ranging from liberation from Japanese imperialism to the 21st century, we as Koreans have gone through turbulent times for decades.

We broke free from colonial rule, established a government, reclaimed our language, traditions, and history, and gradually moved forward with the help of our neighbors. Photographs taken after acquiring independence from Japan, a Korean dictionary studied by the owner, works that use Korean tradition, and photographs of loving neighbors are also on display. The history of winning democracy and freedom of expression is also essential. You can also see recordings of your songs that everyone sang during the pro-democracy protests and congratulatory messages from colleagues for achieving freedom of expression. Every photo that captures the moment when we were together in the midst of the conflict between the North and the South is precious. All these collections and historical scenes have accumulated to reach today’s Korean society.

Weaving the Culture

We can now confidently say that our country is a cultural powerhouse. Here are some of the treasures of those who have contributed to the journey to reach this point in Section 2. In the Exhibition Hall across from Section 1, the stories of 36 people who have been active in various fields of our culture are grouped into four themes. First, we will explore publishing culture, academic inquiry, and society through literature. Their first collections, the research they laid the foundation for in their respective fields, and the works they put their hearts and minds into were precious to them and reflected society. Second, in the visual culture of film and TV broadcasting, the works that have made us leap forward are treasures. The third is the heritage of our popular music. A musician’s most precious treasure is, above all, the music records on which his or her songs are featured. The music records are precious because they are his or her own and have an important meaning. Lastly, we will listen to the stories of athletes, artists, and entrepreneurs who have made a name for themselves on the world stage. Their stories are their own, and the stories are more meaningful because the history of their country and the record of the world have been rewritten in them. Here, you can see Korea’s first gold medal and semiconductor applied with the world’s first technology.

My Life, My History

The collection of 60 people on display here belongs to people who have made a name for themselves in their respective fields.

Each person’s collection is also presented at the archive kiosk. Your story will also become history. Everyone has a precious item with a memorable story. Please come to the Exhibition Hall and leave a story about the object. If a historian would discover it 50 years from now, what kind of history could he or she tell? Even seemingly insignificant personal objects can become treasures of our modern history.

Literature is a vessel for the history of a country. Literary works are characterized by the traces of the people of that era. From Korea’s first novel to the current variety of literary genres, we will explore Korean literature that has evolved with modern history.

Literature with a Turbulent History

Han Kang’s winning the Nobel Prize in Literature was a monumental event that will remain for a long time in our modern history and a feat that raised the status of Korean literature to a higher level. Korean literature is now acknowledged worldwide and is no longer a marginal literature from a distant history. Notably, Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature for the most genuine Korean story itself and not from another distant place. Han Kang’s work is a testimonial record that sublimates the wounds and pains of modern Korean history into literature. Therefore, this award is not only given to a single writer—it sheds light on Korean literature and history.

Let’s turn our attention to the splendid achievements of today’s Korean literature and the history beyond. With a history spanning over a century, modern and contemporary Korean literature has grown to the current day like a mountain range.

Literature during the Enlightenment Period (1876–1910) began with the influx of Western culture and the introduction of new ideas and forms. It was when new forms such as novels, poems, and dramas appeared. Literary works were created that rejected feudal values and focused on modern, independent values and the awakening of the nation. Choi Nam-seon’s “From the Sun to the Boy,” published in 1908, marked the beginning of modern literature. Ten years later, in 1917, “Heartless” (Lee Kwang-soo), serialized in Maeil Sinbo, was the first modern novel. This novel sought social change through modern consciousness and the self-awakening.

Literature during the Japanese colonial period resisted Japan’s colonial rule and shaped its content and form from the era. Han Yong-woon, Lee Sang-hwa, Lee Yuk-sa, and others were directly involved in the independence movement and expressed their will for struggle and independence. “Spring Comes to the Stolen Fields” (Lee Sang-Hwa) expressed the belief that even though the land had been taken away through the Japanese occupation and people of the land could not even feel the spring, the people would be able to regain their land someday. Artists from the Korean Proletarian Artists Federation (KAPF), including Lee Ki-young, Han Seol-ya, and Im Hwa, presented works that denounced social inequality and resisted Japanese imperialism by restoring workers’ and peasants’ rights, based on socialist ideology. Yeom Sang-seop, who held a moderate stance, portrayed social changes and conflicts in Joseon during the Japanese colonial period through conflicts between generations. In “Three Generations,” Yeom Sang-seop depicts the anguish of young intellectuals in the colonial era through the conflict between his grandfather Jo Ui-gwan, his son Jo Sang-hun, and his grandson Jo Deok-ki, and depicts the fall of the feudal order and the emergence of modern values. However, after 1941, when “Sentence” and “Humanities Review” were forcibly shut down, Korean literature entered a dark age. It was a time of humiliation when only literary works created in Japanese could be published.

Liberation finally came, but another trial came with it. The ideological conflict between the left wing and right wing intensified after the liberation, and literature was divided and evolved as well. In a situation where a new nation had to be built where the Japanese Empire had disappeared, the left-wing published works that called for breaking feudal traditions and building a communist society based on socialist ideology. Right-wing literature revolved around young writers such as Kim Dong-ri, Cho Yeon-hyun, and Park Jong-hwa. Kim Dong-ri resisted “class literature” by embodying the traditional life and destiny of Koreans through works such as “The Way of the Shrine Maiden” and “Hwangtogi.”

Since then, the North and the South have been divided, and Korean literature has developed various contents and styles in response to the immediate reality of South Korea.

During the Industrial Period (1960–1980), literary works dealing with social changes caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization appeared. As the gap between the rich and the poor widened due to rapid industrialization and the poor living conditions of workers became a problem, this reality became the main subject of literary works. Jo Se-hee’s “A Little Ball Shot by a Dwarf” explored the story of those impacted by industrialization. The number of people who left the countryside and flocked to the city increased rapidly along with industrialization, and Hwang Suk-young’s “A Foreign Land” and “The Road to Sampo” were based on the reality of rural migration. Kim Seung-ok’s “Mujin Travelogue” depicted the loneliness and alienation experienced in urban life, while Choi In-hun’s “The Square” reflected the reality of interest in reunification had faded since the division of the country and contained the will to overcome such division.” “A Little Ball Shot by a Dwarf” (Jo Se-hee), “The Son of Man” (Lee Moon-yeol), “Jang Gil-san” (Hwang Seok-yeong), 『Land』 (Park Kyung-ri), 『Jirisan』 (Lee Byung-ju), and 『Taebaek Mountains』 (Jo Jeong-rae) were created during this period and were loved by readers.

Riding on Diversity, Korean Literature Expands to the World

Since 1990, the literature of the present can be summarized as the literature of diversity. In the 1980s, socially critical works were mainly created—thanks to the democratization movement that swept across society. However, in the 1990s, attention was keenly focused on intimate emotions and psychology, such as personal life, love, and loneliness, being away from the grand discourse. Later novels depicting mental wanderings and inner conflicts became popular after the frustration of the transformation movement in the 1980s. Gong Ji-young’s “Mackerel” is a representative example. Since the mid-1990s, the development of the Internet and PC communication has led to the emergence of “communication literature.” In the past, the literature was serialized in literary magazines, but now it is serialized or published online. This was also when female authors started to advance, departing from the male-dominated landscape. Park Wan-seo’s “Mother’s Stakes” series, Eun Hee-kyung’s “The Gift of the Bird,” Gong Ji-young’s “Go Alone Like the Horn of Rhinoceros,” and Shin Kyung-sook’s “An Isolated Room” are representative examples. On the other hand, works that reinterpret historical events from a modern perspective have appeared, making works such as Kim Hun’s “Song of the Sword” and Choi In-ho’s “Sangdo” have become popular.

Since 2010, literature has shown various trends and has been spreading and developing in various areas. First of all, it is the rise of genre literature. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror in genre literature are gaining more attention. Works such as “The Cursed Rabbit” by Jung Bo-ra have also gained popularity abroad. The popularity of K-culture, which is currently experiencing a worldwide frenzy, is also connected to this trend.

Korean literature has spread on this trend, and many Korean works have been translated and published overseas. Consequently, in 2016, Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” won the Man Booker International Prize for Literature, and Han Kang’s “I Do Not Bid Farewell” won the 2023 French Medicis Prize. In 2022, Lee Suzy received the Hans Christian Andersen Prize called the Nobel Prize in Literature for Children’s Books. In 2020, Sohn Won-pyung’s “Almond” and Kim Young-ha’s “Memoir of a Murderer” won literary awards in Japan and Germany, while Kim Yi-deum’s “Hysteria” won the National Translation Award. Han Kang’s 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature is not a sudden rise from the ground but the fruit of the continuous trend brought by globalization. Korean literature is beginning to gain international recognition. Thus, it is time for Korean literature to receive the support it needs to establish itself as a major literary force in the world.

I was told that to understand Korean well, you need to learn Chinese characters. It is the same as saying foreigners need to know Chinese characters well to appreciate better or understand more deeply Korean history and society. Under the great theme of the writings (書) of Ahn Jung-geun, I had the opportunity to get a glimpse of his life (生), righteousness (義), and thought (思).

The most memorable part of Ahn Jung-geun’s life was that he was a catholic with the baptismal name of Thomas. His nickname is Doma—a Korean version of his baptismal name. Since I had never been exposed to his devotion before, I was surprised and intrigued to learn that his integrity was motivated by his religious beliefs. Particularly, I looked into the seal “Corée An Thomas” for a long time because it shows the symbolism of Korea, Ahn (surname), and Thomas (baptismal name).

When I came across the Buddhist term, paradise (極樂), I was happy to see that Ahn Jung-geun had transcended religion and dreamed of peace of mind and a free and peaceful world. It was memorable because it intuitively touched the Nepali who practice Buddhism.

After looking into the spiritual world of Ahn Jung-geun, I moved on to the righteousness section. The first thing that caught my eye was “국가안위 노심초사 (國家安危 勞心焦思).” I was unfamiliar with the explanation in Korean, so I read it in English first, “I belabor my heart and brood anxiously over our nation’s security,” meaning constantly worried and anxious about the safety of the country. Suddenly, I started to feel strange around someone who was concerned about the safety of the country. Worrying about the safety of the country? Although I had learned about the “family harmony and success bringing in everything in the world (家和萬事成)” and “first take care of one’s own body, then take care of one’s family, then govern the country, and then manage the world (修身齊家治國平天下)”, I suddenly became curious about this man who broods anxiously over his nation’s security and future, not himself. That’s right, he was a person of the independence movement! A figure named Ahn Jung-geun finally walked into my mind as a young man who was worried about the safety and future of his country. It’s hard for me to admit in front of others what I don’t know, but when I read that Minihohak Bulchihamun (敏而好學 不恥問) meaning “one is quick-witted, loves learning, and is not ashamed to ask questions of his subordinates,” I wondered what kind of mindset Ahn Jung-geun had as he endured each day for independence. I was so taken aback that I found it hard to believe the source of this integrity.

For the fifth story, “Comrade,” I thought about the concept of the word comrade to know about its true meaning. I looked closely at each piece. The anecdote of how Ahn Jung-geun swore an oath with 11 of his comrades by amputating his fingers and forming the Donguidanjihoe (a group of people who cut fingers for the same will) is famous even for foreigners. His desire for independence was conveyed in his will, “I will strive for the restoration of the national sovereignty of my country even when I go to heaven.” I felt even more grateful for his achievements in calligraphy and many of his other works. In the third section, Ahn Jung-geun criticized Japanese imperialism as an intellectual concerned about the future of East Asia. After shooting and killing Ito Hirobumi and being arrested by Russian police on the spot, he remained calm until his execution in Lushun Prison. As the title of the seventh story, “Peace,” suggests, he achieved inner peace.

Born in response to the energy of the Big Dipper with seven dots on his chest and belly, Eungchil (應七) devoted himself to the future of his country as an educator, soldier, and thinker, and finally completed his mission with death itself. I couldn’t help but shed tears from his composed, calm, immaculately clean face, and from the desperation of his severed fingers.

There are also fighters in Nepal who defended their independence. It is a Gurkha (soldiers from Nepal who serve in the British or Indian armies) that Nepali are proud of. It is the army that defeated the Nazis alongside the British in World War II and the best mercenary in the world. Their motto, “Better to die than be a coward,” sums up the Gurkha mercenary squad. Gurkha became famous during the Nepalese-British War (from 1814 to 1816). The Gurkhas prevented Nepal from becoming a colony. Defending their independence against the British is a matter of great pride for the Nepali.

I thought Gurkha was cool, but I never thought about joining the army. This is because defending the country is the job of the Chhetri (warriors) of the Gurkha people. Nepal is a country only guarded by the Gurkha people. People of other ethnicities cannot serve in the military even if they want to, and it has been this way since Nepal was a kingdom.

Because Nepal has not been colonized, I think it will be impossible for Nepalis to internalize the true value of the independence movement or the nobility of martyrs from the independence movement. Therefore, it may be difficult for them to fully understand why Koreans want to remember Ahn Jung-geun by creating musicals, movies, and exhibitions about him. However, the more I read about these contents, the more I realize the efforts and pride of defending the country. And I often realize that Korea’s status in the international arena today comes from the integrity of these people.

The informative exhibition, “The Writings of Ahn Jung-geun,” provided a three-dimensional perspective of the character of Ahn Jung-geun. It felt more like I was reading an autobiography or a diary instead of knowing him as a symbolic figure that I had encountered fragmentarily through other various cultural contents.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History joined the 1st Museum and Art Gallery Fair hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Fair was held from October 24 (Thursday) to 27 (Sunday), 2024, in Hall 2 of BEXCO Exhibition Center 1 in Busan. The Fair was also designed to reduce the cultural gap between regions and increase interest in museums and art galleries throughout the regions in Korea. More than 60 national and public museums and museum-related companies across the country participated in the Fair, providing visitors with various cultural experiences. The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History operated a promotional booth with a three-wheeled car-making education space for experience, museum introduction, and photo zone. The event garnered enthusiastic responses from visitors by giving a pouch souvenir bearing the museum’s logo, created in collaboration with artist Kang Ik-joong, to visitors who subscribed to the Museum’s official YouTube channel, followed the Museum’s online communication space, followed its Instagram account, and checked the digital leaflet of the Gwanghwamun Cultural Center.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History held a citizen lecture, Ahn Jung-geun and His Times, in conjunction with the special exhibition “The Writings of Ahn Jung-geun” from November 13 to 27, 2024. This lecture highlighted Ahn Jung-geun from various aspects such as history, literature, and calligraphy.

In the first lecture on November 13, 2024, Professor Do Jin-soon of Changwon National University addressed the issue of myths and distortions related to Ahn Jung-geun’s deeds and the calligraphies and encouraged the students to view Ahn Jung-geun based on historical facts under the theme of “Ahn Jung-geun, the ‘Great Korean’ Trapped in the Border: Beyond Patriotic Nationalism and Historical Distortion.” In the second lecture on November 20, 2024, Professor Hwang Jae-moon of Seoul National University examined the various representations and symbolic meanings of Ahn Jung-geun in literature and performing arts under the theme “Literary Perspectives on Ahn Jung-geun.” In the last lecture held on November 27, 2024, Professor Jeon Sang-mo of Sungkyunkwan University shared about Ahn Jung-geun’s calligraphies from the perspective of calligraphy history, highlighting the theme “Singing Patriotism and Peace with a Brush.” The professor’s talk shed light on the value of the calligraphies in Ahn Jung-geun’s life. The lecture was followed by an explanation of the special exhibition by Yoo Jeong-hwan, the curator assigned to the exhibition.

On Friday, November 15, 2024, at 2 p.m., the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History hosted the 1st Modern and Contemporary History Colloquium, “All About the Blue House: Space, Utilization, and Beyond,” for the general public in the multipurpose hall. Presentations and discussions by researchers and experts were held to cultivate an understanding of the historical and cultural values of the “Blue House,” a major space in modern and contemporary times. Kang Seong-won, CEO of Gang Hee-jae Architecture Office, and Professor Kim Jung-hyun of Hongik University attended the colloquium.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, in collaboration with the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall and Ahn Jung-geun East Asia Peace Research Centre at Ryukoku University in Japan, held the 1st “Exploring Ahn Jung-geun Through Materials” Conference on Modern and Contemporary History Figures on Friday, November 22, 2024, in the lecture hall on the 6th floor. The conference, which was held for the first time in the country, aimed to discuss the discovered tangible and intangible materials on major figures in modern and contemporary history and to lay a sustainable foundation for exhibition, education, and data collection activities in modern and contemporary history. “Exploring Ahn Jung-geun Through Materials” commemorated the 115th anniversary of Ahn Jung-geun’s death in Harbin, China, allowing participants to recognize various aspects of Ahn Jung-geun’s life by focusing on materials related to Ahn Jung-geun that were not well-known to the public. The event was attended by more than 100 people, including members of the public, academics, and museum officials.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History hosted a workshop on the modern and contemporary history of the museum cooperation network on Friday, December 6, 2024, in the conference room on the 6th floor to share the results of modern and contemporary history museum cooperation network project (2024) and build a modern and contemporary history museum community. More than 70 people, including representatives of partner network member organizations, participated in the workshop and discussed this year’s support project cases and next year’s operation plan. The case presentation included Boryeong Coal Museum’s special exhibition, “Two Skies,” Bupyeong History Museum’s “Planting Memories and Blooming Records,” Korean Genealogical Museum’s producing “The Incident of the Tti-Dong-Gab in Korean History,” teaching materials, the Historical Museum of POW Camp’s creating “Bodeul Museum: A Museum of Visible and Heard” sign language video production, the Animation Museum’s Exhibition “Play, Connecting the Past, Present, and Future,” Sorae History Museum’s SALT+ Project 1 “The Salt Road Walked by Mankind,” and Pusan National University Museum’s “Kim Joong-up Unit,” a hidden treasure of Pusan National University, where teaching materials production projects were introduced. Starting in 2025, the Museum plans to advocate new joint projects between organizations that connect the cooperative network to achieve regional coexistence and expand the business area of the cooperative network.

On Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History held a cultural experience event called “Ahn Jung-geun’s Righteousness, Our Peace” for children and adolescents visiting the Museum in conjunction with the special exhibition named “The Writings of Ahn Jung-geun” to reflect on Ahn Jung-geun’s will and desire for Korea’s independence. The 200 people who participated in the event through pre-registration on the Museum’s website made allied wood lanterns, role-played related to Ahn Jung-geun’s life, and played board games. Among them, the participants enthusiastically responded to the experience of performing a simple role-play of recreating the situation at that time while wearing clothes from that era against the backdrop of Harbin station, the courthouse, and Lushun prison, which are historical places related to Ahn Jung-geun. The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History plans to keep up meaningful communication with visitors by hosting cultural experience events related to historical anniversaries and special exhibitions.

On December 10, 2024, the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History held a dissolution ceremony for the 11th One Step Reporters, who had worked hard to promote the Museum this year. There are 13 reporters, including 2 influencers, 5 investigative reporters, 5 card news reporters, and 1 video reporter, who worked in their respective fields for 10 months from March to December 2024. The reporters covered the Museum’s major events and special exhibitions and quickly made the news of the Museum available to the public. The reporters made 177 posts, which were posted on personal social media accounts, the Museum’s official Instagram account, and the Naver Blog. At this year’s ceremony, the reporters who demonstrated performance excellence were selected and received the Outstanding Reporter Award (1 best reporter and 3 outstanding reporters).

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History and the Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture & Tourism Organization executed a business agreement on November 1, 2024, to advocate the value and future of Korean tourism history. The Museum and the Organization intend to promote various projects through this business agreement. The two parties plan to promote projects such as sharing and exhibiting materials related to Korean tourism history, research cooperation, and academic exchanges, as well as establish a cooperative network such as personnel exchanges.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History collaborated with world-renowned installation artist Kang Ik-joong to create the Museum logo. Artist Kang Ik-Joong has gained worldwide fame for his public art projects using 3×3-inch canvases. He has been exhibiting Hangeul works using five different colors. In this collaboration, Artist Kang recreated the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History’s logo based on the five colors—traditional five cardinal colors (blue (or green), white, red, black, and yellow) indicating five directions including the center.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History collaborated with Bread Barbershop, which operates a popular YouTube account with 2.4 million subscribers, to create a promotional video for the Museum. Even more thrilling is a scene in which Ahn Jung-geun appears to endorse the special exhibition “The Writings of Ahn Jung-geun” in Harbin, China, which opened on October 24, 2024, to mark the 115th anniversary of Ahn Jung-geun’s passing. The video is available on the official YouTube accounts of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History and Bread Barbershop.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History conducted a visitor satisfaction survey from August to November 2024. Every year, the museum listens to visitors’ opinions and strives to improve the museum-visiting experience. The satisfaction survey includes a face-to-face survey of visitors to ask questions about the museum’s various projects, exhibitions, and satisfaction with the viewing experience. Then in-depth interviews are also conducted to enhance the reliability of the survey. Various opinions and survey results from visitors can be seen on the Museum’s homepage, Education/Cultural < Education Programs · Cultural Events < Educational Materials.