AH04h. Housing Culture and Garden of Korea (5.0h)

Korea Furniture Museum will provide in-depth guides on traditional Korean living culture through traditional Korean houses and furniture. Also, Seongnagwon will show the excellence of traditional Korean gardening and landscaping.

Date & Time Sept. 4th (Mon.), 8th (Fri.) 13:30-18:30 Location Korea Furniture Museum, Seongnagwon Number of guests 20~40 guests Guide Korea Furniture Museum Tour Guide Transportation Bus Cost $50~$60 (Entrance Fee 20,000 won) (50% discount is already applied to the fee above) Others brochure, souvenir, no snacks Contact Pt. Korea Furniture Museum, Hyemi Kang 02-745-0181 [email protected]   Time Program Duration 13:30 Depart from Coex, From Coex to Korea Furniture Museum 14:20-15:50 Korea Furniture Museum 90’ 15:50-16:00 From Korea Furniture Museum to Seongnagwon (by walking) 10’ 16:00-17:00 Seongnagwon 60’ 17:00-18:00 From Seongnagwon to Coex/ Arrive at Coex/End of Tour 60’       Korea Furniture Museum-Courtyard Korea Furniture Museum- Permanent Exhibition Hall     [Korea Furniture Museum] The Korea Furniture Museum specializes in collecting, preserving and exhibiting traditional Korean wooden furniture from the late Joseon Dynasty that were personally collected by the founding director of the museum Mi Sook Chyung since 1960s. Over a 15 year period starting from 1993, accumulating 10 distinct Han- oks (traditional Korean house) from the earlier dynasties, such as palace house, noblemen’s house, storage house, and kitchen house, to demonstrate the complete usages of furniture and lifestyle in traditional Korean house that harmonized with nature. Our docents guide a group of 15 or less for one hour to the ins and outs of each house, where it is laid out as if it were being used as a house, and tells a story about the Han-oks and the furniture. In 2011, CNN reported the museum as ‘the most beautiful museum in Seoul’. We are visited from variety of fields; from spouses of heads of states of the G20 Summit (2010), President Xi Jin Ping of China and his spouse, president of Germany, Prime minister of Singapore, to celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Victoria Beckham. It is known as the must see location for foreign visitors in order to experience the essence of Korean living culture. Korea Furniture Museum Homepage www.kofum.com     Seongnagwon Seongnagwon     [Seongnagwon] Seongnagwon is one of a few remaining nobleman’s hermitage garden of the Joseon period which locates in Seoul. It means “to enjoy nature beyond the walls”. It was built separately in the mountain or suburbs so to secretly live a peaceful and quiet life. Hermitage gardens focus on harmony between the nature and artificiality, without splitting spaces. This was a hermitage garden of Hwangji-sa during King Sun-jo (1800- 1834) and also villa of Shim Sam-eung who was a minister under the rule of King Chul-jong (1849-1863). During King Go-jong, his fifth son Lee Gang (1877-1955) used it as his royal villa for 35 years. It is marked as “Lee Gang’s Royal Villa” on Joseon’s map in 1915 and it is designated as Historic Site No. 378 in 1992. In 2008, it was designated as a state-designated cultural property of Scenic Spot, No. 35.