"Hangeul is our people's great cultural heritage. The museum is the 'heart' that preserves Hangeul and makes a new Hangeul culture bloom."
Lim Seong-hwan, director of the National Hangeul Museum, said, “We must expand into the future by sharing the value of Hangeul and Hangeul culture, which is the source of K-culture, which the world is paying attention to, with people around the world.”
Ahead of the 100th anniversary of Hangeul Day, Director Lim, who met at his office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 28th of last month, emphasized that this year is a 'significant year' to remember and share the birth and historical breath of Hangeul.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first creation of ‘Gagyanal’ to protect Korean language and writing in 1926 during the Japanese colonial period, and it is also the 100th anniversary of the promulgation of the Korean Braille ‘Hunmaengjeongeum’.
To honor that meaning, the museum is presenting the exhibition 'One-gu Takeoff, Infinite Takeoff' with the National Museum of Korean History in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, and 'From Point to World' at the National Museum of World Characters in Incheon.
On the 16th of this month, an international forum with the theme of 'Writing and Museums: From Ancient Records to Future Heritage' will be held with the Alexandria Library in Egypt.
Director Lim defined the role of the National Hangeul Museum as a “treasury of memories” that preserves Hangeul and emphasized, “We will pay more attention to the spread of Hangeul and Hangeul culture.”
He took office in May of this year and has worked in public office for nearly 30 years, handling all cultural policies and systems of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including content, tourism, media, and copyright.
Director Lim said with a smile, “I was mainly in charge of designing laws and systems, but it was interesting to be in the field of introducing and promoting Hangul, the foundation of our culture.”
What was helpful to the ‘newbies’ at the museum was the experience of 2022.
Director Lim was in charge of the restoration promotion team that revived the 'Old Jeonnam Provincial Office', which was the heart of the May 18 Democratization Movement, into a space symbolizing Korean democracy.
It is said that collecting relics containing memories of Gwangju and preparing for an exhibition is similar to a museum.
Director Lim said, “At the time, we wanted to create a space to remember the historical events of Gwangju by meeting with about 40 organizations and experts, listening to their stories, and conducting literature research and field trips.”
After coming to the museum, the first thing he noticed were people.
Director Lim believed that we should highlight those who worked hard to create the Korean language today, including King Sejong the Great and Korean linguists Ju Si-kyung (1876-1914), Choi Hyun-bae (1894-1970), and Homer Hulbert (1863-1949).
He emphasized, "It is an important task of the National Hangeul Museum to honor those who preserved and developed the Korean language, including the 33 members of the Joseon Language Society, and to collect and research related materials and commemorate them."
The task of leading a museum during a period called the ‘Year of Hangeul’ is actually not easy.
The National Hangeul Museum is currently undergoing restoration work after a fire occurred in February last year. Approximately 90,000 items in the collection are being stored in places such as the National Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum of Korea, where a temporary office is located.
This is the reason why several exhibitions this year, such as 'Gana Darak - Geulnori Word Play', 'Ilgu Takeoff, Infinite Takeoff', and 'Korea's 100 years of modern and contemporary times, people who brought glory to Hangul', are being presented outside rather than at the museum.
The museum building is currently undergoing repairs from fire damage and expansion work.
Director Lim said, “Based on the results of the precise safety diagnosis, we will select a construction company and begin construction at the end of the year,” and added, “We plan to reopen the museum in time for Hangeul Day in October 2028.”
According to the museum, the third floor, which suffered significant damage at the time of the fire, has been partially cleared, and restoration work has also been completed on the first and second floors, which suffered flooding and water leakage damage during the fire suppression process.
A lawsuit seeking compensation for damages is also underway to determine responsibility for the fire.
Director Lim expressed his gratitude to the employees who worked together even in difficult situations.
The museum was closed last year due to restoration work, but it used the external exhibition space to present a total of 9 special and special exhibitions and attracted a total of 303,126 visitors.
Director Lim confessed, “It is not easy to design according to the ever-changing exhibition hall environment, supervise on-site construction, and go on external business trips to operate and manage the exhibition hall.”
Regarding the reopening, he emphasized, "King Sejong's spirit of creating Hangul was innovation and love for people that broke existing practices," and "the goal is to have a flexible and creative attitude without being bound by the inertia of the past."
“Excellent hardware is important for reopening, but it must also be supported by internal capabilities. We are preparing for the ‘National Hangeul Museum 2.0 Era’ with the mindset of being reborn.”
The museum recently formed a task force (TF) and is accelerating preparations for reopening.
Director Lim said, “When the museum opens in October 2028, the museum environment will be very different from now, including artificial intelligence (AI) and digital use,” and “we are thoroughly preparing.”
The goal is to expand the role of the National Hangeul Museum to the world stage.
The ambition is to promote the value of Hangul and Korean culture by forming a consultative body at the International Council of Museums (ICOM), where museum experts from around the world are active. The relevant budget has also been secured.
“Hangeul is our heritage that we can be proud of wherever we display it. With K-culture attracting attention, I am confident that Hangeul can play a leading role in research and discussion of the world’s alphabet.”
