The purpose of this study is to create a cornerstone in the discussion on the
ecomuseum applicable to Korea henceforth by documenting the history of the area
explored during the planning process, and the significance and the limitations of the
《Ikseon-dong Community Museum》Project. The project was conducted as a scheme
to utilize the local resources of the urban traditional housing village in Ikseon-dong,
applying the concept of an ecomuseum.
The study concentrates on the《Ikseon-dong Community Museum》Project, which
was implemented on the whole area of the urban traditional housing village at 166
Ikseon-dong and cultural heritage in its surroundings during the period from October
10th to 24th of 2014. This project was carried out, throwing open their living and
business space of the residents in order to show the urban traditional housing which
held the memory of the modern period and the lives of Ikseon-dong locals. The
exhibition tried to search into the memory of modern times when townhouse-style
homes were built, placing importance on the discovery and application of the local
cultural properties. It was fortunate to dig the memories on the urban style Korean
traditional houses remaining in Ikseon-dong, literature, and Korean classical music,
though vaguely, since those houses and the alleys were conserved intact. After
liberation and the Korean War, Ikseon-dong stood at the center of the politics made
in high-class Korean-style restaurants, blooming the culture of such restaurants like
Ozinam. On the collapse of the ‘restaurant’ politics, Ikseon-dong is currently standing at the crossroad of development and conservation, which has been the main issue of
this study. Exhibitions attempted to display this sort of the investigation, exploration,
and deliberation, and the community people involved in this process. This paper is the
record of the research and experiment.
In the middle of ongoing arguments and disputes on the development and
conservation up to now, writing this paper on the unfinished research and investigation
results from anxiety over community museums of a city which may emerge in the
future. Also it is to search for a method of making a community museum a mirror
to appreciate the past and the present, and to reflect the future of the local community
instead of filling it with personal greed or boasting.