Government-General Museum of Chōsen
1915–1945 museum in Keijō, Korea
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The Government-General Museum of Chōsen (Japanese: 朝鮮総督府博物館, Korean: 조선총독부박물관) was a museum in Keijō (Seoul), Korea, Empire of Japan.
| Government-General Museum of Chōsen | |
|---|---|
朝鮮総督府博物館 | |
| |
 Interactive map of the Government-General Museum of Chōsen area | |
General information | |
| Location | Keijō, Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Coordinates | 37°34′43″N 126°58′42″E |
| Opened | 1 December 1915[1] |
History
The Government-General Museum of Chōsen began as a temporary museum in the East Palace of the former royal palace Gyeongbokgung in 1909.[2] In September 1915,[3] in anticipation of the Chōsen Industrial Exhibition, for the 1915 Chōsen Industrial Exhibition,[4]: 96 a permanent facility was constructed for the museum on the former site of Geoncheonggung.[3] After the building was used for the exhibition, the museum moved into the building and opened to the public on December 1 of that year.[3][5][1]
The museum established a Gyeongju branch in 1926 and a Buyeo County branch in 1939. Related museums (although not explicitly branches) were established in Kaesong in 1931, Pyongyang in 1933, and Gongju in 1940.[6]
The museum did not operate as an independent agency, and the department under which it fell was subject to bureaucratic reorganization.[7]
The museum and Japanese Korean studies research in general have been described as intentionally focused on Korea's ancient history, in order to portray Korea as old and Japan as modern.[2][5] Only 4.5% of the museum's collection was from the Joseon period; 76% was from before that.[2] It had six exhibition halls and operated under the government-general's Bureau of Education.[6]
After the 1945 liberation, the museum was seized by the United States Army Military Government in Korea and reorganized into the National Museum of Korea.[6][4]: 106 That museum opened on 3 December 1945.[1] The Government-General Museum's former building was used by an art institution until 1987. From 1897 until 1995, it was used as a traditional crafts museum.[5] In 1998, the museum building was demolished, after it had come to be viewed as a "symbol of colonialism".[8]
Statistics
| Year | Korean | Japanese | Foreign | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 57,337 | |||
| 1922 | 1,800 | 64,420 | ||
| 1923 | 39,004 | |||
| 1925 | 27,483 | 21,182 | 996 | 49,061 |
| 1926 | 32,471 | 25,648 | 2,006 | 60,125 |
| 1927 | 15,280 | 28,129 | 1,307 | 44,716 |
| 1928 | 18,859 | 30,308 | 1,221 | 50,338 |
| 1929 | 16,349 | 28,935 | 1,355 | 46,639 |
| 1930 | 9,304 | 25,787 | 1,513 | 36,604 |
Publications
Gallery
Postcard of the 1915 Chōsen Industrial Exhibition
The museum building in 1915
See also
