Mok-A Museum

Near the Namhangang River in Gangcheon-myeon, Yeoju, the Mok-A Museum is a private museum where a master Buddhist woodcarver shows the relics he collected over a lifetime, together with his own work. Its founder Park Chan-su was recognised in 1996 as a holder of the national intangible heritage of woodcarving (mokjogakjang). Stone pagodas and statues on the lawn, a red-brick hall modelled on Indian cave temples and Buddhist scriptures listed as national Treasures make for a surprisingly varied visit.

A museum founded by a sculptor

Park began building here in February 1989, completed the exhibition hall in April 1990 and opened it as the Mok-A Traditional Crafts Hall. In June 1993 a large Maitreya triad was consecrated in the grounds and the museum officially opened as the Mok-A Buddhist Museum; it took its current name in 2014. Mok-a, the founder's pen name, means a bud sprouting from a tree. The collection is built on objects he gathered over some 30 years, partly funded by his carving workshop.

The hall and its collection

The main building has one basement level and three floors. It reuses bricks from a former Seoul National University building, and while the design borrows from Indian rock-cut temples, the interior uses traditional hanok windows and frames. Sources differ on the size of the collection, giving either about 6,000 or more than 50,000 items; roughly 1,500 to 2,000 pieces are on display.

• Three Treasures: designated in 1992, they are volumes 6–10 of the Yenyeom Mita Doryang Chambeop, volume 1 of the Lotus Sutra and volume 24 of the Jeongwon edition of the Avatamsaka Sutra.
• Buddhist art: statues, paintings and wooden crafts, followed by Park's own Buddhist carvings.
• Woodworking tools: more than 500 traditional tools show how delicate the craft of carving really is.

The outdoor sculpture park

Among the lawns and pines stand the Maitreya triad, a Vairocana Buddha, a White-robed Avalokitesvara and a three-storey stone pagoda. There is also a row of old stone figures and steles and a few hanok halls. Give the grounds as much time as the galleries.

Outdoor halls and programmes

Deeper in the sculpture park are small halls named by the founder: Han-eol Ulneuljip, built like a folk house, the House of the Great Word, the Hall of Judgement, which depicts the trial of souls after death, and the Gate of the Mind. Seeking them out one by one is part of the fun. The museum has also reproduced and conserved cultural properties, researched and published on Buddhist art, and run education events such as a museum culture school, a youth museum school and a Children's Day drawing contest.

Park was the first holder recognised after woodcarving was designated as a national intangible heritage category. The carvings in the galleries are therefore more than collection pieces: they record the skills one craftsman has refined over a lifetime.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: open every day of the year. Sources differ on the hours, either 09:30–17:30 or 09:30–18:00 (last entry 17:00), so call ahead on +82 31-885-9952.
• Tickets: adults KRW 6,000, teenagers and over-65s KRW 5,000, Yeoju residents KRW 3,000; free for visitors with disabilities. Groups need to book in advance.
• Time needed: 1 to 1.5 hours for the galleries and the park.
• Getting there: the museum is about 5 km in a straight line from Yeoju Station on the Gyeonggang Line, so a taxi or car is easiest. It pairs well with Silleuksa Temple on the Namhangang River for a day out.
• Best time: spring and autumn, when the open grounds are pleasant for walking. In summer the lawns have little shade.