관람형에서 참여형 전시로 전환하는 박물관

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Examined in this article are how exhibitions at State-established museums (National Museums) have turned from featuring displays treating visitors and viewers as “opponents” (people who are to be ‘shown’ the exhibition) to holding displays acknowledging them as “active participants” (people who would join the process from the beginning, or at least before the completion of the display layout). There are several examples of them which we can find from certain museums, so some of them will be discussed here. Overall, this article will be an examination of museum exhibitions’ very evolution, from an ‘event to see’ to an ‘event to join.’BR Initially, National museums’ primary function was to inform the visitors of the history and culture of Korea through selected-andthen-exhibited artifacts. Museums at big local cities have been developing their own themes reflecting cultural characteristics of their own. Then the visitors started to display a will and interest to join the development process (for Permanent exhibitions). The National Museum of Korea (at Yongsan) was demanded to switch to a new exhibition format –for its permanent exhibition- in which artifacts would be positioned and displayed in a chronological order. NMK accepted the suggestion and rearranged the display to feature artifacts from the Old Stone age(Paleolithic Era) through the Joseon period in timely order, and also opened the Gojoseon display for the very first time.BR This kind of ‘participatory exhibitions’ are spreading throughout local state-established museums. National Museum of Naju is located at the ancient burial mound site, and opened as a Mahan-themed museum at the request of the local community. Walls of the storage chambers are made of glass so that visitors could see the inside, and an excavation experience is inviting visitors to have a taste of what excavations generally entail and how it feels to actually be on the field. Proposal for a National Museum of Chungju (tentative title) is aiming for a local museum that would deal with the ‘Jung’weon culture.’ Sometimes there are certain differences of opinions between the local community and professional historians. The former’s response to the display arrangement (conceived by the latter) of the National Museum of Chuncheon could be cited as such example.BR Museums are no longer conceiving displays with curators as the only brain. Historians or specialists outside the museum, or even general viewers, are actively coming up with their own ideas and vision that could potentially affect the display structure or contents. This could indeed be defined as a ‘participatory exhibition,’ and with this kind of format the visitors now have a way to reflect their views in the process and literally join the exhibition themselves.