Expanded National Lighthouse Museum of Korea
1 July Public Re-opening
The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that the National Lighthouse Museum will re-open to the public on 1 July following a four-year, $20 million expansion and renovation programme.
Lighthouse enthusiasts will find twice the current exhibition space, educational space, an indoor playground for kids, coffee bar, museum store and new seaside terraces offering fantastic views of the East Coast. The permanent exhibition hall will be open and free to the public at all times as before.
The expansion and renovation project doubled the museum’s floor space to more than 11,000 square metres.
‘The Museum’s exhibition hall is scaled to showcase historic relics and works it has collected over the past decades,’ said Joonho JEONG, Director of Aids to Navigation Division of the Ministry adding: ‘More spacious exhibition hall and natural light allow for inviting displays of the collection. We are confident that the newly-born Museum will be an important multiplex cultural space in Pohang and a source of inspiration for our national and international visitors.’
Museum Director Byeong-taeg OH commented: ‘For over 37 years, National Lighthouse Museum has celebrated and exhibited historical relics and works of lighthouse as well as local artists, craftspeople and designers, supporting the notion that design and creativity contribute to the betterment of everyone’s life.’
The 1 July reopening commences a week of celebratory activities and programmes that include World Marine AtoN Day celebration and International Aids to Navigation Forum 2022, exhibition tours and artists’ lectures.
Located just nearby Homigot Sunrise Square in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, National Lighthouse Museum collects, preserves, and exhibits Lighthouse of the World, Lighthouse of Korea, including objects related to the history and technology of lighthouses located, in the past or present, at the sites throughout the world and Korea. The Museum also serves as a contact point for public inquiry and assistance with respect to lighthouse history, research, education, collections and programs.
Since the Museum’s founding in 1985, it has evolved into a leading lighthouse heritage organization. Its collection numbers more than 20,320 historical relics and works of lighthouse from the 1900s to the present.
By Cho Yonghun, Director National Maritime PNT OfficeMinistry of Oceans and Fisheries
Rapporteur: Paul Ridgeway
