Ureuk Museum, a living guide to the gayageum and traditional music

About the museum

Ureuk Museum was established to collect, preserve, and exhibit materials related to Ureuk, the musician credited with creating the gayageum. It is described as the only museum in the country devoted to Ureuk and the gayageum.

The museum aims to help visitors understand the musician and the instrument. In Goryeong, a place associated with the gayageum, it also serves as an educational setting for learning about this traditional Korean instrument and its musical heritage.

Ureuk and the gayageum

The displays introduce Ureuk as the creator of the gayageum and explore the instrument’s place in traditional music. Visitors can use the exhibits to gain an accessible understanding of both the musician and the instrument.

The museum also offers a chance to encounter the atmosphere of traditional music. Its educational role and collections bring together information about Ureuk, the gayageum, and the broader tradition of Korean instruments.

Exhibits

Among the displays are reconstructed examples of instruments and performers shown in historical artifacts. These include figures decorating pottery and a scene associated with the Gilt-bronze Baekje Incense Burner; the reconstructions help present how instruments were played.

Other exhibits include a reconstruction of the stringed instrument from the Sinchang-dong site and a range of Korean instruments. Together, these displays give visitors several ways to explore the history and variety of traditional instruments.

Visiting information

The museum is at 경상북도 고령군 대가야읍 가야금길 98. Admission is free. From March through October, opening hours are 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., with last admission at 5:30 p.m. From November through February, it is open 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m.

It is closed on Mondays, except when Monday is a public holiday, as well as on January 1 and the days of Seollal and Chuseok. For further details, visitors should contact the museum by phone before visiting.