At Insa Historic Sites Museum, heritage is preserved through destruction

At Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul, some of the world’s oldest movable metal type is on display for free. The basement museum was built after redevelopment destroyed part of Insa-dong and led to archaeological excavations that recovered the artifacts. The site frames preservation as a paradox of destruction, with buried heritage uncovered only because construction dug it up.

The museum displays 441 examples of movable metal type selected from about 1,700 replicas of the originals found at the site.

The collection includes gabinja type originally cast in 1434 and eulyuja type originally cast in 1465, which represents the oldest known surviving metal types bearing Hangeul.

The artifacts were unearthed during a 2020-21 archaeological survey and excavation tied to redevelopment in downtown Seoul’s Insa-dong neighborhood.

The museum covers 4,810 square meters and is located in the basement of the G1 Seoul office building.

The site is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Mondays and designated holidays, and admission is free.

Published Sep 27, 2026 5:21 am KST

Pre-Gutenberg movable metal type on display

A guide leads guests on a tour of the new Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul's Insa-dong, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Some of the world's oldest extant movable metal type is on display at a new museum in central Seoul, and entry is free of charge for anyone who wants to see it. However, Insa Historic Sites Museum comes across as surprisingly modest in how it displays these remarkable pieces of typographic history.

The museum's collection includes 441 examples of movable metal type, selected from approximately 1,700 replicas of the originals found at the site. This includes "gabinja," originally cast in 1434, predating Johannes Gutenberg's own movable metal type by almost two decades. There are also replicas of "eulyuja" type, cast originally in 1465, representing the oldest known surviving metal types bearing examples of Hangeul, or Korean characters.

"Gabinja" movable metal type, dated to 1434, is displayed at Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Hundreds of the little metal pieces were unearthed during a 2020-21 archaeological survey and subsequent excavation. Such surveys are a mandatory part of the redevelopment process, which wiped out the southeastern corner of downtown Seoul's historic Insa-dong neighborhood to make way for G1 Seoul, a new office building that houses the museum in its basement level.

Earliest Hangeul metal movable type blocks excavated in Seoul

Historic Joseon-era relics excavated [PHOTOS]

Archaeologists recovered the metal type collections in an ancient ceramic jar, which also contained timekeeping instruments and other artifacts. Most striking of these is the "Ilseongjeongsiui" astronomical clock, a device that served as a sundial in daytime and focused on the North Star at night.

The "Ilseongjeongsiui" astronomical clock is displayed at Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Other notable artifacts on display at the expansive basement museum include a water clock, a temple bell cast in 1535 and military firearms called "chongtong" built in the 1580s.

"Most were broken or cut, suggesting that they had been collected as scrap for recycling into new objects," a sign located explains.

According to the museum, this area housed shops dealing with scrap metal in the 16th century, which is the era the museum focuses on, shortly before Japanese invasions of the 1592-98 Imjin War, during the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty. Joe McPherson at The Dark Side of Seoul argues that the museum depicts an era of Seoul that was "at the edge of catastrophe" — something the museum never clearly explains.

A stream used to run through the area, located near what is now the Jongno 2ga intersection, spanned by Cheolmylgyo — literally, "metalware bridge." This reflects a local character that contrasts oddly with Insa-dong's newer reputation as a cultural and artistic district that attracts droves of tourists.

A reconstructed temple bell made of bronze is displayed at Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The artifacts on display in the museum had been discarded, forgotten and ultimately buried. One dynasty's trash is another's treasure, but exactly how that trash ended up in a 21st-century museum is interesting in itself.

Unlike today, when construction involves removing the earth and building deep foundations, during the Joseon era people simply built atop the ruins of what came before. This led to the accumulation of densely packed layers of debris, starting from the 1390s when the capital was established in what is now Seoul, and lasting until the modern era. The earth here is formed by deposits from human activity, different from the natural sediment located deeper underground. According to the museum, the manmade layers measured approximately 4.5 meters in depth at this site.

This display shows a cross-section of the excavated layers of debris accumulated over 600 years at Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

"In the Jongno area, where archaeological remains from multiple periods are layered, the museum aspires to set a new benchmark for preserving the buried heritage that continues to surface across central Seoul," a sign by Seoul Museum of History, operator of the facility, proclaims.

It's wild to imagine what other potential discoveries remain buried in the ground we walk over every day in downtown Seoul — and wilder to think that redevelopment is the key to bringing buried heritage to the surface. For decades, similar relics were dug up during construction work, but nobody saved them.

Over the last couple decades, awareness has grown in the government of the incredible opportunity to survey the heritage that's hidden under the surface. As city blocks are destroyed to make way for new buildings, museums are created to memorialize what came before.

Ancient ruins are uncovered during an archaeological excavation of the G1 Seoul construction site in central Seoul's historic Insa-dong neighborhood, April 26, 2021. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The museum introduces the "Gongpyeong Rule," which pushes for preservation of archaeological remains uncovered in the process of redevelopment. This is named after nearby Gongpyeong-dong, where Gongpyeong Historic Sites Museum opened in 2018 in the basement of Centropolis.

"Under this system," a museum sign explains, "developers who fully preserve uncovered buried heritage in situ are granted floor area ratio incentives."

That is the main motivation for opening museums like this — not a love of history or a desire to educate the public, but simply as an exchange for loosened height restrictions. In this case, the builders received permission to build eight floors taller than they would have otherwise been allowed, which may be why many of these new museum spaces seem a little underwhelming.

The museum space is expansive and a lot of money went into its creation, but it still feels liminal, incomplete. Perhaps the feeling stems from the fact that museum is new and features may still be in development. There is ample space for experimentation in archiving, displaying and educating people about this heritage. In particular, I hope more use is made of virtual reality and media art — things that don't need a lot of floor space.

A walkway crosses over archaeological ruins preserved at Insa Historic Sites Museum in central Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The museum is enlightening to wander through, but I question if it is really a model of sustainable development. Is this much floor space truly needed to house these remains? The artifacts like the movable metal type and the timekeeping devices take up considerably less floor space than the foundation stones, which mark the location of houses that nobody remembers.

The museum covers 4,810 square meters, close to the building's total footprint. That's a lot of floor space that could have been used for something else. Real, living people were displaced when the building went up, so I hope it will not be squandered.

Preservation in destruction

The museum presents a remarkable peek under the layers of Seoul's urban history. However, in the hurry to preserve ancient heritage, the area's modern life had to be disrupted and residents displaced. This is the paradox that sites like the Insa Historic Sites Museum represent: preservation in destruction.

Until recently, this site was home to a modest but lively local community situated around Pimatgol — the "alley for avoiding horses" where Seoulites used to gather to dine in a dense network of inexpensive restaurants serving grilled fish, savory pancakes or sauteed kimchi and tofu. While redevelopment was inevitable, the museum makes little mention of what has been lost — I suppose because it's unpleasant to remember. There are a couple of photos on the wall showing what the area was like before the community was cleared out. Most of the people in those pictures are probably still alive, and might be surprised to find themselves exhibited in a "historic sites" museum. Wouldn't it have been nice if the building's design included space to accommodate them?

This 2012 photo on display at Insa Historic Sites Museum, June 30, shows people inside a restaurant that was later destroyed to make way for new construction. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Behind the new building, visible from the museum entrance, a patch of old Insa-dong still stands among the weeds. Right across a two-lane road, the KOTE cultural complex — or at least what's left of it — offers a stark contrast to its new neighbor, now that the construction fence has been taken down.

Ahn Ju-young, the manager of KOTE, told journalists gathered there on June 20, "They recreated Pimatgol over there, but there's no smell of fish."

Living communities can't be moved into museums, and we can't halt time. But if this museumification process is how Seoul commemorates time's passage, then I'd like to see more people visit Insa Historic Sites Museum.

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Mondays and designated holidays. Admission is free.

Insa Historic Sites Museum will be visited as part of an excursion by the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea on Saturday, Oct. 3. Participation costs 25,000 won, or 20,000 won for RAS Korea members. Visit raskb.com for more information.

在首尔市中心的仁寺历史遗址博物馆，一些世界上最古老的活字印刷术正在免费展出。这座地下博物馆是在仁寺洞部分区域因重建而被毁后建造的，而正是这次重建引发了考古发掘，才使得这些文物重见天日。该遗址将保护视为一种破坏的悖论：埋藏的文化遗产之所以重见天日，恰恰是因为建设工程将其挖掘出来。

博物馆展出了 441 件活字印刷品，这些活字印刷品是从该遗址发现的约 1700 件原件复制品中挑选出来的。

该系列藏品包括 1434 年铸造的 gabinja 字模和 1465 年铸造的 eulyuja 字模，它们是目前已知最古老的带有韩文的金属活字。

这些文物是在 2020-21 年首尔市中心仁寺洞地区重建相关的考古调查和挖掘中出土的。

该博物馆占地 4,810 平方米，位于 G1 首尔办公大楼的地下室。

除星期一和指定节假日外，该景点每天上午 9 点至下午 6 点开放，免费入场。

发布于2026年9月27日凌晨5:21（韩国标准时间）

展出的古腾堡之前的活字印刷术

6月30日，导游带领游客参观位于首尔市中心仁寺洞的新仁寺历史遗址博物馆。（韩国时报 Jon Dunbar 摄）

首尔市中心一家新博物馆展出了一些世界上现存最古老的活字印刷术装置，任何人都可以免费参观。然而，仁寺历史遗址博物馆在展示这些非凡的印刷术历史文物时，却显得出人意料地朴素低调。

博物馆的藏品包括441件活字印刷品，这些藏品是从遗址发现的约1700件原件复制品中挑选出来的。其中包括1434年铸造的“gabinja”活字，比约翰内斯·古腾堡发明的活字印刷术早了近20年。此外，还有1465年铸造的“eulyuja”活字的复制品，它是目前已知最古老的带有韩文（韩语）字符的活字印刷品。

6月30日，在首尔市中心的仁寺历史遗址博物馆，展出了可追溯至1434年的“Gabinja”活字印刷术。韩国时报摄影师Jon Dunbar摄

在2020-2021年的考古调查和后续挖掘中，出土了数百块这样的小金属碎片。此类调查是重建过程中的必要环节，为了建造G1首尔——一座新的办公大楼，博物馆就位于其地下一层——首尔市中心历史悠久的仁寺洞街区的东南角被夷为平地。

首尔出土的最早韩文金属活字字块

朝鲜时代历史遗迹出土【图集】

考古学家在一个古代陶罐中发现了金属活字，罐内还包含计时仪器和其他文物。其中最引人注目的是“日晷”，这是一种白天用作日晷，夜晚则指向北极星的装置。

6月30日，首尔市中心仁寺历史遗址博物馆展出了“日星正钟”。（韩国时报 Jon Dunbar 摄）

这座宽敞的地下博物馆还展出了其他一些值得注意的文物，包括水钟、1535 年铸造的寺庙钟和 1580 年代制造的名为“冲通”的军用火器。

“大多数物品都已破损或切割，这表明它们曾被当作废料收集起来，准备回收制成新物品，”一块标牌解释道。

据博物馆介绍，这片区域在16世纪曾是废金属交易的场所，而博物馆也正是以此为主题，聚焦于16世纪——即1592-1598年壬辰倭乱爆发前夕，朝鲜王朝（1392-1910年）的历史时期。乔·麦克弗森在其著作《首尔的黑暗面》中指出，博物馆所展现的首尔正处于“灾难边缘”——但博物馆对此却从未给出明确的解释。

过去，在如今钟路2街路口附近，有一条小溪流经此地，溪上架着一座铁妙桥——字面意思是“金属桥”。这反映了当地的特色，与仁寺洞如今作为吸引大量游客的文化艺术区而享有的盛名形成了鲜明的对比。

6月30日，一口用青铜铸造的修复寺庙钟在首尔市中心的仁寺历史遗址博物馆展出。（韩国时报 Jon Dunbar 摄）

博物馆里展出的文物曾被丢弃、遗忘，最终掩埋。一个王朝的垃圾可能是另一个王朝的宝藏，但这些垃圾最终如何出现在21世纪的博物馆里，本身就是一个耐人寻味的故事。

与如今建造房屋需要挖开土方并建造深地基不同，朝鲜时代人们直接在前人遗迹之上进行建设。这导致了从14世纪90年代（今首尔）都城建立之初到近代，层层叠叠的瓦砾堆积起来。这里的土壤是由人类活动沉积物形成的，与地下深处的天然沉积物截然不同。据博物馆介绍，该遗址的人造土层厚度约为4.5米。

6月30日，在首尔市中心的仁寺历史遗址博物馆，展出了挖掘出的、历经600多年堆积而成的瓦砾层的横截面。照片由《韩国时报》的Jon Dunbar拍摄。

“在钟路地区，各个时期的考古遗迹层层叠叠，该博物馆致力于为保护首尔市中心不断涌现的埋藏遗产树立新的标杆，”首尔历史博物馆（该设施的运营方）的一块标牌上这样写道。

想象一下，我们每天在首尔市中心行走的土地下，还埋藏着多少潜在的文物，真是令人惊叹——而更令人难以置信的是，城市改造竟然是让这些被埋藏的文化遗产重见天日的关键。几十年来，类似的文物在建筑施工中被挖掘出来，却无人保存。

过去二十年来，政府越来越意识到，调查那些隐藏在地表之下的历史遗产是一个绝佳的机会。随着城市街区被拆除，为新建筑腾出空间，博物馆也随之建立，以纪念过往的历史。

2021年4月26日，在首尔市中心历史悠久的仁寺洞，G1首尔建设工地考古发掘过程中，古代遗迹重见天日。（韩国时报 Jon Dunbar 摄）

该博物馆介绍了“公平规则”，该规则旨在保护在城市改造过程​​中发现的考古遗迹。该规则以附近的公平洞命名，公平历史遗址博物馆于2018年在Centropolis的地下室开幕。

博物馆的一块标牌解释说：“根据这一制度，能够将已发掘的埋藏文物原址完整保存的开发商将获得容积率奖励。”

这才是开设这类博物馆的主要动机——并非出于对历史的热爱或教育公众的愿望，而仅仅是为了换取放宽的高度限制。在这种情况下，建筑商获准建造比原本允许的高度高出八层楼，这或许可以解释为什么许多新建的博物馆空间看起来有些令人失望。

博物馆空间宽敞，投入巨资打造，但仍给人一种不完整、尚未完全成型的感觉。或许这种感觉源于博物馆尚属新建，部分功能仍在开发完善之中。这里拥有充足的空间，可以用于遗产的保存、展示和教育等方面的实验。我尤其希望能够更多地运用虚拟现实和媒体艺术——这些技术并不需要占用太多空间。

6月30日，一条人行道横跨首尔市中心仁寺历史遗址博物馆保存的考古遗址。韩国时报记者乔恩·邓巴摄

参观这座博物馆确实令人受益匪浅，但我质疑它是否真正体现了可持续发展的理念。真的需要这么大的空间来存放这些遗迹吗？像活字印刷术和计时装置这样的文物，占用的空间远小于那些标志着早已被人遗忘的房屋遗址的地基石。

博物馆占地4810平方米，几乎与整栋建筑的占地面积相当。这么大的空间原本可以用于其他用途。建筑施工期间，确实有活生生的人因此被迫搬迁，所以我希望这些空间不会被浪费掉。

毁灭中的保存

这座博物馆为我们揭开了首尔城市历史的层层面纱，令人叹为观止。然而，为了保护古代遗产，该地区的现代生活不得不被打乱，居民也被迫搬迁。这正是像仁寺历史遗址博物馆这样的场所所体现的悖论：在破坏中寻求保护。

直到不久前，这里还是围绕着皮马谷（Pimatgol）——这条“避马小巷”——一个虽不大却充满活力的社区的所在地。首尔人过去常常聚集在这里，在林立的廉价餐馆里享用烤鱼、美味的煎饼或炒泡菜豆腐。虽然重建不可避免，但博物馆却很少提及那些逝去的景象——我想是因为回忆起来并不愉快。墙上挂着几张照片，展现了社区被拆迁前的景象。照片里的大多数人可能都还健在，他们或许会惊讶地发现自己出现在一个“历史遗址”博物馆里。如果当初设计时能预留一些空间让他们参观，那该多好啊！

这张摄于2012年的照片于6月30日在仁寺历史遗址博物馆展出，照片显示的是一家后来被拆除、为新建筑让路的餐厅内的人们。照片由《韩国时报》摄影师Jon Dunbar拍摄。

从博物馆入口处可以看到，在新建筑的后面，一片老仁寺洞的遗迹依然掩映在杂草丛生之中。隔着一条双车道公路，KOTE文化中心——或者说至少是它剩下的部分——与它的新邻居形成了鲜明的对比，如今施工围栏已经拆除。

KOTE 的经理安柱英 (Ahn Ju-young) 于 6 月 20 日告诉聚集在那里的记者：“他们在那里重建了皮马特戈尔，但是没有鱼腥味。”

鲜活的社区无法被搬进博物馆，时间也无法停止。但如果首尔用这种博物馆化的方式来纪念时光的流逝，那么我希望看到更多的人参观仁寺历史遗址博物馆。

博物馆除周一及指定节假日外，每日上午9点至下午6点开放，免费入场。

韩国皇家亚洲学会（RAS Korea）将于10月3日（星期六）组织参观仁寺历史遗址博物馆的活动。参加费用为25,000韩元，韩国皇家亚洲学会会员为20,000韩元。更多信息请访问raskb.com。