A full-scale replica of the Ilseongjeongsiui, a 15th-century dual-use astronomical clock designed to measure time during both day and night, is displayed at the newly opened Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul's historic Insa-dong neighborhood. Courtesy of Seoul Museum of History
Beneath a newly completed 25-story office tower in central Seoul, visitors will soon be able to walk along the stone-paved alleys of 16th-century Joseon Dynasty, stepping directly into the daily lives and cutting-edge science of Korea’s past.
The Seoul Museum of History announced Tuesday the opening of the Insa Historic Sites Museum, a sprawling 4,810-square-meter subterranean site located in the historic neighborhood of Insa-dong. Scheduled for an official opening ceremony Wednesday, and public admission Thursday, the basement facility is the largest on-site museum in the Korean capital.
Unlike traditional museums that house relics behind glass cases away from their origin, the new exhibition hall presents a massive archaeological site approximately where it was unearthed. Visitors walking along elevated wooden decks will look down upon the preserved foundations of six 16th-century buildings, ancient drainage systems and a massive communal stone well.
