At Insa Historic Sites Museum, heritage is preserved through destruction
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…
A new museum in central Seoul is dedicated to preserving the world's oldest extant movable metal type. Entry to the Insa Historic Sites Museum is free for visitors who wish to view its collection. However, the museum displays these historic pieces with a surprising modesty. The museum houses 441 examples of movable metal type, carefully selected from around 1,700 replicas discovered at the site.
Among these are gabinja, cast in 1434, which precedes Johannes Gutenberg's movable metal type by nearly two decades. There are also replicas of eulyuja type, cast in 1465, representing the oldest surviving metal types featuring Hangeul, or Korean characters. Hundreds of these small metal pieces were unearthed during an archaeological survey conducted between 2020 and 2021, part of the mandatory redevelopment process that demolished the southeastern corner of downtown Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood to construct G1 Seoul, an office building that now houses the museum in its basement.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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