Special Exhibition
ARIRANG

Arirang has a lot of meaning in Korean culture. The exhibition sheds light on the history of Arirang and its presence in today’s Korean society.

Stage 1 will invites you to think about what arirang is. We hope you find the best answer for that with this exhibition.
Stage 2 will bring you images and sound sources of arirang in real lives, and introduce you to arirang songs in Korean history.
Stage 3 will show you that our lives have been much occupied with the themes of arirang. We would like to show the various products with the arirang trademark and the role arirang plays in every day Korean life.
Arirang is also the spring of creation which is a real inspiration to literature and art. Stage 4 consists of visual and literature works. Arirang is a source of inspiration in various artforms. Korean literature often utilizes arirang themes.

We sincerely hope that you will know what arirang is and what arirang means to us.

“…..Arirang is an exchangeable sound between people which contains our nation’s joys and sorrows deeply. When the time comes for us to blame someone or have tears and regrets, arirang would be the right answers instead of expressing it directly. I say a word in arirang sound, and the other one says a word with one’s regret…..”
Jang Seok-bae (a 64-year-old man) in Jeongseon said about arirang on February 9, 2012)

• Part 1.
  What is it that makes Arirang constantly sung and heard by people beyond time and space? Here, we have prepared a space for visitors to ponder upon the identity of Arirang and what it means to Korean people.
  
  
• Part 2.
  It is hard to tell when arirang began. Someone says that it started the same time Korean history started while others argue that it started in the latter period of the Joseon Dynasty. The beginning of arirang hasn’t been cleared in spite of its many hypotheses, but it doesn’t have much importance. The truth is that we are still singing the songs of old. This part will take you to experience sounds, films, photos and artifacts of arirang from the latter period of Joseon Dynasty, Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, the Korean Diaspora and modern times.
  Arirang songs still resound through all over the country. It has been sung in good times and bad times, and it will be continued by the time we live in this land.
  
  
• Part 3.
  According to the ranking of Korean brand names from 1948 to 2001, Arirang took sixth place. After 1990, it is ranked second place. As you can see, arirang is the Korean national brand. However, these goods with arirang trademark, for the most part, are not high priced. It is our close friends who share people’s joys and sorrows like arirang music.
  
  
• Part 4.
  Arirang is a well of creation for Koreans. There are countless resources of arirang as its themes, subjects and materials. We suggest you to have a seat and take some time to look at it.
  This media art section shows us that Arirang is deeply rooted in Koreans’ emotion as the cultural DNA. Arirang represents all the joys and sorrows in the history and lives of Koreans. We pay tribute and respect to the parents’ generation with the homage.
  
  
• Part 5.
  Have you ever heard of Grandmother Hun? Her real name is Lee Nam-i (1924~2001). She lived in Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia for 50 years as Comfort Women during the Japanese colonial period. She had returned to the homeland in more than five decades. She forgot everything about her mother tongue, but Arirang.