[Eye Plus] Time travel through Korea’s schools

To better understand the nation’s everlasting belief in the power of education, a small museum inside the hanok village of Bukchon, northern Seoul, offers a trip to South Korea’s schools of the past.

Opened in 1995, the Seoul Education Museum holds a vast range of collections that show how the nation’s schools have evolved, as well as the lives of teenagers from the 1392-1910 Joseon era to present. 

From the textbooks on farming to classes in the 1960s and ‘70s with stoves in the middle where students used to put their brass lunch box to warm them before lunch, the museum tells colorful stories of how Koreans have grown up with hopes to tackle challenges of the times -- from poverty to political turmoil -- and how they built a new future for younger generations today.

The museum opens from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and to 5 p.m. on weekends. For more information, visit edumuseum.sen.go.kr

Photographed by Park Hyun-koo
Written by Cho Chung-un