Jeongok Prehistory Museum

Museums opens on April 25
See human history from 300,000 years ago as well as paleolithic relics and ancient humans in a special exhibition

How would you feel if you came face to face with humanity from 7 million years ago? Did you know that some humans played flutes made of animal bones and trumpets made of clay during the Old Stone Age?

A new prehistoric museum recently opened its doors, exhibiting ancient humans and murals.

Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation  hosted an opening ceremony for the Jeongok Prehistory Museum at a prehistoric site in Jeongok. Attendees included Governor Kim Moon-soo, Administrator Choe Kwang-shik of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, National Assembly Member Kim Yeong-woo, Yeoncheon County Mayor Kim Kyu-sun, Netherlands Ambassador Paul Menkveld, Centre Culturel Français Director Laure Coudret-Laut, and over 500 international personnel. 

Architects Nicolas Desmazieres and Anouk Legendre, who designed the museum, were also present at the ceremony along with Sangmi Bowen, widow of site-discoverer Greg Bowen. Mrs. Bowen donated her late husband’s shovel, photographs, and framed articles. Governor Kim Moon-soo said in his congratulatory speech that he was “overwhelmed to see a museum open on such a historic site that dates back three hundred thousand years.” He expressed his hope that the public learns how human dreams and history can live on forever and must be passed on intact to future generations. 

Administrator Choe offered best wishes for the museum, saying, “The museum is beautifully balanced between past and future, natural and artificial. It is destined to become a favorite destination in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province where people can enjoy exhibitions, educational programs, and other cultural activities.”

The Jeongok Prehistory Museum invested a total of KRW 4.8 billion in the 72,599¡×©ø lot and the building that covers 5,350¡×©ø (1 underground level, 2 stories high), making it the largest prehistoric museums in the nation. Its ultra-modern exterior has garnered public attention.

Designed by French X-TU, the museum building is 101 meters in length, 40 meters in width, and its highest point reaches 6.4 meters. The exterior is a linear, snake-like form covered with thousands of stainless plates that sparkle when the sun hits the building at various angles during the day. Designed to connect two adjacent hills, those who visit the museum will feel as if they are entering a time machine to the Stone Age.

The Permanent Exhibition Hall, on the first floor of the building, is where one can see ancient humans from the prehistoric age, murals, and the animals and climate of that time. Note the Permanent Exhibition Hall is not divided into smaller sections.

In the center, one will encounter a series of ancient human replicas spanning from seven-million-year-old Toumai to hundred-thousand-year-old mandal man and twelve other prehistoric models from around the world. Each is so well crafted, from every wrinkle to strand of hair, that they look as if they will walk out of the museum any minute. They are the works of Elizabeth Danes, a world renown specialist from France.

The Oldest Mummy in the World Displayed in the Archaeology Hall

On both sides of the fossil human display is a simulation of the Earth’s climate and animals when and where they lived:tropical and ice age as well as a temperate climate like that of Jeongok.

Deep inside the museum is the mural exhibition. Replicas of textbook paintings such as Lasco and Alta Mira are on display. The experience is like a trek into humanity’s past.

At the entrance is a large model of a prehistoric home made of mammoth tusks. A museum staff member explained, “These huts are usually found in the Ukraine and nearby regions. It was made of bones collected from around one-hundred mammoths. You can see how important hunting mammoths was back then.”

Walk through the lobby and into the Archeology Hall and you will be greeted by the oldest mummy yet discovered, called Oetzi. The children who had a first glance could not take their eyes off the ancient mummy. Those who visit can learn more about the prehistoric age through a touchscreen introduction.

Visitors can start a fire, make leather clothing, make accessories with animal bones and shells, draw a wall picture and participate in other activities related to prehistoric life.

A museum official said, “We strive to involve visitors as much as we can. We hope to see many families visit the museum.”

There is a Multipurpose Hall in the basement level (although it looks a ground floor) next to a Special Exhibition Hall for movies, music, and dances. The rooftop is connected to a walk that leads outside to Hantangang River.

Opening Celebration Exhibits and Seminars

Up to October 31 this year, the exhibit hall in the basement will feature the exhibit Origin of Music that was brought to the museum in collaboration with the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden of the Netherlands. Bone flutes, clay trumpets, and instruments made of snail shells will be on display along with many other ancient artifacts. It will be the first exhibit of its kind in Korea.

The museum will also host a variety of seminars. The Acheulean Hand axe Association will hold a seminar that brings together 110 scholars from twelve countries around the world. Other prehistoric-themed performances and activities such as prehistoric-costume making and wall painting will take place.

Gyeonggi Province believes the museum represents a turning point for tourism in the province. There are plans to open more venues in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province to make it a tourist attraction in the long run.

A cultural tour connecting sites from the Joseon Dynasty — such as Sunguijeon Hall in Yeoncheon County, the Royal Tomb of King Gyeongsun, and Goguryeo fortresses including Horogoruseong, Dangposeong, and Eundaeriseong — is underway. The government has already opened an auto-camping site in the Hantan River area; this is also part of a family tourism course that includes Imjin River cliffs and water spider habitats. There are courses that cover the renowned DMZ area, connecting the Imjingak Pavilion and the hurricane observatory.

Jeongok Prehistory Museum Chairperson Bae Ki-dong emphasized that “This museum shows our dedication and love for our culture, and represents an opportunity for Gyeonggi Province to earn recognition. I am sure visits here will be meaningful.”

Yeoncheon County, where the museum is located,has been limited in terms of development by the DMZ, but it has dedicated 33,000 square meters for the construction. The region is anticipating positive effects. Yeoncheon County Mayor Kim Kyu-sun remarked “I hope this is a chance for Yeoncheon to finally shine.”

From May to December, the museum will operate an archeology experience program through which families can learn about fossils, specimens, and related equipment. More information can be obtained by contacting the museum.

The museum is open weekdays from 09:00 to 20:00 (closing at 21:00 during the summer). The entrance fee is KRW 4,000 for adults, KRW 2,000 for students, and KRW 1,000 for elementary school students. Residents of Gyeonggi Province receive a 50% discount (non-applicable for group visits)

Inquiries: +82-31-830-5600, www.jgpm.or.kr 

* About the Jeongongni Prehistoric Site

The Jeongongni Prehistoric Site where the museum is built was first discovered by US soldier Greg Bowen, an archeology major, who found a stone tool during his visit to the Hantan River amusement park in 1978. He took it to late Professor Kim Won-ryong of Seoul National University. It turned out to be an Acheulean relic, and the whole world took notice of this newly discovered site.

A total of seventeen excavations have taken place since the Acheulean hand axe was discovered, uncovering six thousand more ancient tools. The site was registered as National Historic Site No. 268 in 1979.

An Acheulean hand axe is made by chipping two sides of a stone. It is considered a prehistoric all-purpose hand knife and has been discovered in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India. It was commonly believed that East Asia never made it to the Acheulean stage, but the discovery in Jeongok changed this view. All archeological journals around the world that cover the prehistoric era now mark Jeongok-ri in their map.

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