Jeonju National Museum

In Jeonju, ancestral home of the Joseon royal family, Jeonju National Museum tells the story of North Jeolla from prehistory to modern times. It opened on 26 October 1990 and displays around 2,000 of its 40,000-odd objects. Many come with a story, like a Goryeo bronze bell that left for Japan and came back 73 years later.

History: a home for North Jeolla's heritage

The museum is a branch of the National Museum of Korea, set up to collect, study and display the region's heritage. An education centre opened in 2002 and became a children's museum in 2014. The permanent galleries were completely renewed in 2022, the first major overhaul in some 30 years, and a calligraphy gallery was added later.

What to see

• History Gallery: it begins with a Palaeolithic tanged point and Neolithic comb-pattern pottery, then presents North Jeolla as the richest Bronze Age find area in Korea, with fine-line bronze mirrors and moulds for Korean-type bronze daggers from the Sinpung and Galdong sites in Wanju. Also here are the gilt-bronze shoes from Tomb No. 1 at Bongdeok-ri in Gochang, finds from the ancient maritime ritual site at Jungmak-dong in Buan, a celadon jar with a chicken-head spout from Wolsan-ri in Namwon, and roof tiles stamped "Jeonjuseong" from the Later Baekje kingdom.
• Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery: Buddhist art, ceramics and metalwork. The star is the bronze bell said to be from Naksujeong, a Treasure. Unearthed in Jeonju, it was taken to Japan in 1926 and came home in 1999, 73 years later, when its Japanese owner donated it. Also on show are the Baekje Buddha plaques found in a field at Daemok-ri, Gimje, in 1980.
• Jeonju and the Joseon Royal Family Gallery: the story of Gyeonggijeon shrine, which houses the portrait of King Taejo, and of the Jeonju archive that saved the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. Exhibits include the Yongbieocheonga, the Korean Empire state seal Jegojibo, a chest for the Annals and works by the portrait painter Chae Yong-sin.
• Seokjeon Memorial Gallery: works by the calligrapher Seokjeon Hwang Wook (1898–1993), who, to overcome a tremor in his hand, held the brush in his whole fist.
• Calligraphy Culture Gallery and immersive video room.

Good to know

When Japanese forces reached Jeonju in 1592, officials and local people carried the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty from the Jeonju archive, together with Taejo's portrait from Gyeonggijeon, to safety in the Naejangsan mountains. While the copies in other archives burned, the Jeonju set survived and has come down to us today. The royal gallery is laid out to follow this story. The gallery also shows how Joseon kings cultivated Jeonju, the family's ancestral seat, with royal placenta burials, an archive and ancestral rites.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: permanent galleries 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30), children's museum 10:00–17:30. Admission and parking are free; some special exhibitions may charge a fee.
• Closing days: 1 January and Seollal and Chuseok days, plus designated inspection days (in 2026: 14 September and 14 December) when the main building and children's museum close. The outdoor garden and car park stay open.
• Guides: free audio guides through the National Museum of Korea exhibition guide app; group tours must be booked.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for the permanent galleries. The museum is on Ssukgogae-ro in Wansan-gu, Jeonju.