Specialty Museums, Bukchon-Insadong    

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Bukchon, Seoul's Hanok (traditional houses) Village, boasts numerous small museums that showcase elements of traditional Korea such as arts and crafts, daily life or food. The area  is within easy walking distance (10 minutes) of Anguk subway station (Line 3, Stop 328). You can also take  village bus #2.

Despite its maze-like layout, Bukchon is relatively easy to navigate. Not only are there a few south- north main thoroughfares cutting through the hanoks that help keep you going in the right direction, there are also 'street' signs showing the way to some of the main attractions in the area. You can also get a map of the area at one of the Tourist Information Centers located outside Anguk station. (You can also buy a 10,000 won ticket at the tourism kiosk that will get you into a number of the Bukchon museums: Gahoe Minhwa Museum, Donglim Maedup Museum, Seoul Museum of Chicken Art, Museum of Korean Buddhist Art  and Han Sangsoo Embroidery Museum.

Dong-Lim (Maedeup) Museum - 동림매듭박물관, a cozy hanok with a small yard on the alley near the Gahoe Folk Museum, displays a variety of old, hand-made, traditional maedeup  works by Shim Yeong-mi, the head of the Korea Maedeup Federation. Some of the crafts include Norigae for Hanbok, belts, pouches, as well as materials such as thread, cord, and accessories.Ms Shim, who learned knotting from her father-in-law, whose aunt was a court lady specializing in decorative knotting in the Joseon period, offers lesson in knot-making (cell phone charm).Reservations required for groups of 7 or more. Admission: 2,000 won. Making a cell phone charm 5,000 won (includes admission). Hours: 10:00-18:00. Closed Mondays.  Tel:02-3673-2778.

Gahoe Folk Museum offers a collection of some 1,500 works, including roughly 250 folk paintings (minhwa), 750 talismans (bujeok), 150 classical books and 250 various folk-related resources. Minhwa are paintings by common people in the Joseon period that, unlike paintings by upper-class literati,  give a glimpse into the lives of the common people. Visitors can also learn to paint a flower on a fan and to create a print from a woodblock. Admission: 3,000 won. Minwha fan painting; 7,000 won. Woodblock talisman 3,000 won. Hours: 10:00-17:00. Closed Mondays. Tel: 02-741-0466.

Hansangsu Embroidery Museum 한상수 자수박물관 is run by Han Sang-su, master in embroidery the museum and displays a variety of embroidery-related items and historical relics.  Visitors can learn to embroider rose patterns on a handkerchief for an hour (10,000 won). Admission: 3,000 won. Hours:  10:00 - 17:00. Tel: 02-744-1545.

Mokin (Traditional Wooden Dolls) Museum houses more than 3,000 wooden dolls. ‘Mokin’ refers to various wooden sculptures of people and animals. Admission: 5,000 won.  Hours: 10:00~19:00. Closed New Year's Day, Seollal and Chuseok. Info: 02-722-5066. Directions: From Exit 6 of Anguk Station (stop 328) walk straight to reach the main street of Insa-dong. Follow the Insa-dong Main Street about 200 meters and on the left you will see a yellow ‘ㅆ’ sign. This is the Ssamzi Space Building.
About 70 meters into the alley you'll see the Insa-dong Information Center. A few meters before you reach this center, you’ll see the Mokin Museum to your right.

Museum of Korean Buddhist Art,  a private museum located near Changdeokgung (Palace), exhibits over 6,000 Korean Buddhist works including paintings, sculptures, crafts, ritual items, folk items, ceramics, etc. Info: buddhistart@paran.com. Tel: 02-766-6000.

Owl Art and Craft Museum is a private museum filled with over 2000 owls and owl paraphernalia from over 70 countries. Tel: 3210 2902. Hours: 10:00 - 19:00/  Winter season: 10:00 - 18:00. Closed: Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Admission: 5,000 won. Directions: From Exit 2 of Anguk Station follow Samcheong-dong Road. As you are walking down this road, you will then take the side street on the right. Go pass the Korea Banking Institute. You will see a sign labeled “차와 부엉이” (Tea and Owls).

Seoul Museum of Chicken Art (aka Culture Center of Chicken Art.) exhibits crafts related to the chicken through different contexts of culture and art. The two-story building has a rest area, a permanent gallery on the first floor and a special gallery on the second floor.Special exhibitions are organized to reflect the changing seasons. Info: kimch@kokodac.com. Admission: 3,000 won. Hours: 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mondays, Seollal and Chuseok. Tel: 02-763-9995.

Toykino Museum houses approximately 70,000 cartoon characters, mostly in the shape of figures (character dolls with moveable joints). The figures come in real-life sizes, down to mini-sizes. Admission: 5,000 won. Hours: 13:00~20:00. Closed Mondays.  Info: 02-723-2690. Directions: Get off Subway Line #3 at Anguk Station and go out of Exit 1 and walk along the path to your right. Cross the street and follow the stonewall about 150 meters. Make a right at ‘Nan Studio’ and keep walking until you reach a three-way street (across the street is the Gyeongbokgung Palace wall). Make a right at the three-way street and walk about 100 meters to reach TOYKINO museum.

*Note: Some of the museums may not always follow the hours indicated.

K4E Editor: Korea4Expats want to provide the most accurate and complete information possible, so if you notice an error or omission in the contents above, please contact us at info@korea4expats.com

Photo of Gahoe Museum