Chusa Museum

The Chusa Museum, run by the city of Gwacheon, brings together the life, scholarship and art of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui (1786–1856), the late-Joseon scholar and calligrapher. It opened on 3 June 2013 right next to Gwaji Chodang, the cottage where Chusa spent his last four years, and its collection is built on Chusa material gathered over two generations by the Japanese scholars Fujitsuka father and son. Admission is just KRW 2,000 for adults, and it is close to Yangjae and Sadang in Seoul, which makes it an easy half-day trip.

Chusa's papers come home from Japan

Fujitsuka Chikashi (1879–1948), a professor at Keijo Imperial University, is regarded as the first scholar to study Chusa in depth. In 2006 his son Fujitsuka Akinao donated his father's entire collection of Chusa's calligraphy, letters, books and related material to Gwacheon without conditions, and that gift led to the founding of the museum. The basement has a dedicated Fujitsuka Donation Room honouring them.

Floor by floor

• Second floor, "Chusa's Life": from his birth into a leading family in Yesan and his friendships with Qing scholars, through exile on Jeju (1840–1848) and in Bukcheong, to his final years in Gwacheon.
• First floor, "Chusa's Arts and Learning": epigraphy and evidential scholarship, poetry and painting, and the Chusa style of calligraphy that matured during his Jeju exile. A highlight is the display recreating the "Panjeon" (板殿) signboard at Bongeunsa, said to have been written three days before his death.
• Basement: the Fujitsuka Donation Room, a special exhibition hall, a permanent activity room, a small children's library and the museum shop.

Sehando and Gwaji Chodang

Chusa's best-known work, Sehando (a National Treasure), was painted in 1844 during his Jeju exile; the original was donated in 2020 and is now in the National Museum of Korea. Here at the Chusa Museum, the calligraphy and letters he refined in exile give a sense of the years that produced it.

In front of the museum is a reconstruction of Gwaji Chodang, the country retreat on the site of his father Kim No-gyeong's grave, where Chusa lived after returning from exile in Bukcheong. With a pond, a statue of Chusa and a restored well beside the small house, it is a pleasant place to pause after the galleries. Chusa died here in Gwacheon in 1856.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 09:00–18:00 (tickets until 17:00). Closed on Mondays (the following day if Monday is a public holiday), 1 January, and the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays.
• Fees: adults KRW 2,000, secondary-school students and enlisted soldiers KRW 1,000, primary-school pupils KRW 500; free for children 6 and under and visitors 65 and over.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for the galleries and Gwaji Chodang.
• Getting there: take city bus 6 from outside Seonbawi Station exit 1 (Line 4) or Yangjae Station exit 9 (Line 3 and Shinbundang Line) and get off at "Chusa Museum". Buses run every 5–10 minutes.
• Parking: the free car park has room for only 21 cars, so it fills quickly at weekends.
• Guided tours: guided commentary can be booked for groups.