We had a family fun day out and went to National Museum of Korean Contemporary History (대한민국역사박물관).
We picked up Yul from daycare and headed to Gwanghwamun to go to the museum. Yul is only a baby, so he can’t understand what we were doing, but he still had a good time being with us.
If you are interested in Kpop and/or Kdramas, or if you have only started getting interested in Korean culture, I really recommend researching more about Korea’s history, especially it’s modern history. This museum is great for giving a chronological lesson of what has happened in the past 150 years in Korea. It’s also free admission and there is English as well.
In order to be able to understand modern Korean culture you really need to understand what has happened to Korea over the decades. For example, South Korea is one of the only (if not the only) country that went from receiving aid to being wealthy enough to now send aid. Within a life time the country has gone from being poor and war-torn to a modern, wealthy, technologically advances country. You can see how that history affects society now when you understand that. Unfortunately a lot of foreigners move to Korea and never fully understand that and prefer to live in ignorance and prejudice than to have some understanding. So if you are living in Korea and want to know more, or are just visiting, this museum is great for getting an overall picture of Korea’s history in just one visit.
Comments by Mika