The National Museum of Korea

The museum moved to Yongsan in 2005 and it is built at a scale that surprises people: one long block with the permanent collection spread over three floors, from prehistoric stone tools to Joseon painting. The set pieces are worth planning around. The Gyeongcheonsa pagoda, carved from marble in the fourteenth century, stands inside the entrance hall and rises through all three levels. The Silla gold crowns from the Gyeongju tombs sit in a dim room of their own. At the end of the top floor, two gilt-bronze pensive bodhisattvas share a dark, quiet gallery with nothing else in it. Entry to all of this is free.

What you actually see

• The Gyeongcheonsa pagoda - ten storeys of carved marble standing inside the entrance hall.
• The Silla gold crowns - thin worked gold from the Gyeongju tombs, in darkened cases.
• The pensive bodhisattvas - two gilt-bronze figures alone in a quiet, unlit room.
• Goryeo celadon - the jade-green glaze and inlaid cranes that made the dynasty's name.

When to go

Open year round, with late hours on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, when the grounds and the reflecting pool are lit and the crowds have thinned. Weekday mornings are calm; weekends bring school groups and families. Special exhibitions need timed tickets booked online and do sell out. Two hours covers the highlights and a full day does not exhaust it.

Honest expectations

The building is very long and the floors turn repetitive if you try to see everything, so most people fade by the second hour. English labelling is decent but uneven, and the audio guide adds little. It sits away from the centre, and the walk from the station is longer than the map suggests. Special exhibitions are ticketed and get crowded.

Nearby

Yongsan Family Park is next door and Itaewon is a short ride north.