National Gwangju Museum to Reopen After Over 70 Days

Stepwise Operation Including Advance Reservation Viewing System

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The National Gwangju Museum is reopening after being closed for about 70 days due to COVID-19.

On the 6th, according to the National Gwangju Museum (Director Lee Sumi), it decided to reopen with a prior reservation system and welcomed its first visitors.

The first visitors upon reopening were the couple Kwon Geunwan and Noh Heesoon, residents of Daedeok-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Director Lee Sumi of the National Gwangju Museum presented them with a small commemorative gift and expressed a warm welcome.

Kwon Geunwan said, “I came to my daughter's house for Parents' Day, and hearing the news that the museum would reopen from today, I visited from the morning. Being the first guests is meaningful, and I hope many good programs will be prepared for citizens' cultural life in the future.”

The National Gwangju Museum will resume phased operations under the premise of adhering to social distancing guidelines in daily life.

Initially, the facilities to open are the exhibition hall and the garden. The Children's Museum will partially open from the 18th, considering that children are less adept at practicing social distancing and are vulnerable to infection.

The exhibition hall and Children's Museum will operate on a prior reservation system through the website.

The exhibition hall limits the number of visitors to 100 per hour for infection prevention and allows entry in 8 sessions from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Children's Museum limits visitors to 50 per hour and operates flexibly with more than 3 sessions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The museum garden can be used from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. without a separate reservation. Visitors can enter after temperature checks and mask-wearing confirmation at the museum's main gate.

The National Gwangju Museum has prepared various programs for May after reopening.

Visitors will be welcomed with a special exhibition “Testimonies of a Thousand Years of Namdo Buddhism,” where they can see rubbings of historic monuments, stele of eminent monks, Buddhist statues, and inscriptions on bells from temples in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, and an exhibition program “Blue Moon on the Eighteenth Day” commemorating the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.

Additionally, an XR immersive content experience center themed on the Sinan Underwater Cultural Heritage, one of the museum's representative collections, will open. A magic show for children is also prepared. Participation in all programs is limited in number and available through website reservations.

Furthermore, the National Gwangju Museum is strengthening its online content, which has recently become important.

To become a “museum anywhere,” it plans to expand content accessible to everyone, including not only exhibitions but also curriculum-linked educational videos and academic resources.

Director Lee said, “During the closure period, we made great efforts to develop cultural programs and improve facilities to provide higher quality services to citizens upon reopening than before. We will do our best in quarantine management so that visitors can enjoy the museum with peace of mind.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.