The Mokin Museum is the 19th private museum registered in Seoul. This is a unique museum in Korea, in that it exhibits about eight thousand traditional wooden dolls or sculpture, collected by the curator Kim Ui-gwang. Mokin Museum has many wooden things: statues that came from countries in Asia, dolls made in the late Joseon Dynasty or modern times, and wooden accessories.
The Mokin Museum leads visitors to thoroughly appreciate the exhibitions using their five senses. Reproductions are made in order to let visitors touch them. They also offer the opportunity to ring small bells that are hanging from wooden dolls. Visitors listen to music, feel the surface of the trees, smell the fragrance of wood and view exhibitions. A cup of coffee or juice is given for free after viewing. Also, unlike other museums, Mokin Museum allows visitors to take pictures. So if you visit, you can have pleasant memories from your pictures for a long time.
At first, before you enter Mokin Museum, you can see a statue of an animal. It seems to be a roaring tiger, but its face looks funny because it has a red ribbon tied around its neck. The museum building was originally just a regular house, however, it was remodeled into a museum while keeping its structure. Flowers are planted and a small pool was made in the garden. The exterior of the building is covered with ivy. Now this place is very elegant and beautiful.
The first floor is Mokin Gallery. Works of modern art such as drawings, installation art and video art are placed there for a week. Before meeting with the wooden dolls, you can raise a sense of understanding about art.
If you go downstairs, you can enter an underground lounge. A traditional mask which is hanging on the wall invites people. Even though the place is small you can enjoy a cup of tea and read books about the customs of Korea under the delicate light.
The wooden dolls are on the 2nd floor. Beside the counter, floral patterned accessories which decorate a coffin are hanging on the wall. Also there are Chinese masks with various faces. You can feel these wooden things are calling you.
You can meet wood art that comes from Japan, China, Tibet, Myanmar and India, if you enter. The religion of Asian countries is Buddhism, so most sculptures are Buddhist statues. Apart from them, there are other wooden dolls such as a mother with children, a man carrying a water jar on his head. Looking at these small statues, you can see the many life styles of Asia.
In the next room, you can see a lot of wooden dolls that were made from the period of the late Joseon Dynasty to the present. A number of wooden dolls were made for the purpose of being religious and magical objects or big events in families such as marriage, funerals and ancestor memorial. From here, you can find funny sculptures; a husband is looking at his mistress while his wife is looking at them with jealousy. Also the sound of Korean traditional music is likely to be heard when you see mini circus dolls, namsadangpae in Korean. On a wall, a relationship of one’s family is described. You may be amused when you see a doll of a husband that seems stupid.
If you can endure the cold weather, how about going up to the roof? The roof of Mokin Museum is created as a garden. Jars of strange patterns that are collected from several areas lie on the ground. And there are wooden swing chairs and tables. You can see herbs and green ivy in the spring and summer. But in winter, small cute jars invite visitors instead of green plants.
You can come to understand Korea and other cultural areas deeply through the wooden dolls. In the past, people made wooden statues so as to drive away demons and have good fortune. You can guess how our ancestors lived when you look at the splendid color and realistic faces or actions. Mokin Museum is a highly recommended cultural place to go in the cold winter where you can appreciate wooden dolls and the lives of men in the old days.
All photos pictured by Ju Lan
■ Opening times
Open : 10 a.m. ~ 7 p.m. (Last entrance 6:30 p.m.)
Close : Mondays, Lunar New Year, New Years Day, Chuseok
■ How to get there
Subway : Jonggak, Line 1, exit 3-1 or Anguk, Line 3, exit 6
Bus : Any bus passing Jogyesa or Jongno police office
■ Reservations or inquiries
Tel. 02-722-5066 Email. mokin@mokinmuseum.com
Ju Lan Junior Reporter
jul2238@uos.ac.kr