The Paju Storage of the Korean Folk Museum Celebrating Its First Anniversary Lacks the 'Most Important Artifact'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The Paju Storage Facility of the National Folk Museum, located at 30 Heyri-ro, Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, with two above-ground floors, one basement floor, and a total floor area of 10,202㎡, has celebrated its first anniversary since opening.

The official name is the “National Folk Museum Paju Open Storage and Information Center.” It not only stores collections but also provides “information” and offers an experiential space.

The building is broadly divided into the “Open Storage” where visitors can directly view items, the “Visible Storage” which can be seen through glass windows, and the “Folk Archive” that provides video materials. Unlike typical museum exhibitions that display collections based on specific themes, the storage holds all artifacts as having equal “value.” The question “What is the most important artifact?” does not apply here, as all collections hold the same value of “1.”

As a storage facility, the number of collections is enormous. There are one million items including 86,270 folk artifacts and 814,581 archive materials. Collections are organized by material type in temperature- and humidity-controlled spaces and displayed up to the ceiling height. Since the primary purpose is “preservation,” detailed descriptions of the collections are limited. However, to fulfill the goal of providing “information,” kiosks are installed inside the storage where visitors can select images or numbers of items to see and hear detailed explanations. While most storage facilities offer information on up to 1,000 types of items, the Paju storage discloses information on all collections through kiosks. It is also searchable online.

Most collections are exhibited through donations. Donated items undergo a low-oxygen pest control process for about 21 days. Oxygen is removed and nitrogen is introduced to eliminate pests. According to the storage’s own experiments, larvae that can survive without oxygen cannot endure beyond 21 days. Afterward, the packaging process takes place, which visitors can observe through a viewing glass.

The video archive is a specially emphasized part of the storage. All 900,000 materials were donated and exhibited. Visitors can view diverse scenes of modern and contemporary life, including footage of civilians filmed by foreigners during the Korean War. To mark the first anniversary, various homemade video clips were released, adding significance to the celebration.

A space for children has also been prepared. In the children’s experience room, kids can learn about different materials and preservation methods of the collections through games. For example, for items requiring humidity control, children can touch water droplets appearing on the screen to remove them.

Curator Kim Yoon-jung explained, “Until now, museum visitors viewed artifacts selected by curators according to themes, but at the National Folk Museum Paju Open Storage and Folk Archive, visitors can become active users of the materials according to their individual needs or purposes.”

That said, thematic exhibitions are not entirely absent. Until the 31st of next month, “Sosohage Banbanhage,” an exhibition combining traditional small tables (soban) and chests (bandaji) with works by contemporary craft artists, is ongoing.

Last year (May 4 to year-end), about 30,000 visitors came, and this year (until July 17), around 27,000 have visited the storage. A storage official expects more visitors in the second half of the year as social distancing measures due to COVID-19 have been lifted.

The storage is exploring various ways to increase visitor inflow, including providing its own vehicles, but faces several difficulties. Generally, the Paju storage is considered a branch of the National Folk Museum, but in fact, it is managed by a single department. The storage is overseen by a department head, not a director. Kim Jong-tae, head of the department managing the Paju Open Storage, said, “Because we are not an independent institution, even if we try to provide vehicles, we cannot assign drivers, which is challenging. Even if we want to operate guided programs, limited personnel make it difficult to offer service programs. One department is handling the work of two or three, so there are many difficulties.”

To celebrate the first anniversary, eleven exhibitions, experiences, markets, and performances will be held at the Paju Open Storage from the 22nd to the 24th. On the anniversary day, the 23rd, the facility will be open until 9 p.m.

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