Instructor: Nancy Hechinger
The Josenon Dynasty Museum and Research center Proposal  

The Full Immersion of Visitors Into The Life Within A Josenon Dynasty Era Town:

Exhibit Mission: To educate visitors about the Josenon dynasty and it's influence today on the Korean society.

Educational Objectives and Intended Audience(s):
To educate and help generate a spark of interest within the visitors to learn more about the Josenon Dynasty and its impact on modern day Korea. The target audience groups are all members of the public.

Exhibit Concept:
Through the complete immersion of the visitors into the town, I hope to inform and educate the visitors about the Josenon dynasty through the use of dioramas and through various forms of self-directed discovery.
One key element within the exhibit is the fact that each physical location (shipyard, school, government building and more) will inform the visitors of its significance in both the Jonsenonian dynasty as well as its influence today on Korean Society. The Josenon dynasty town will be fully enclosed within the research center and will attempt to replicate the complete environment for the town within that time period. Some exhibits which will serve, as educational models will include:

A Shipyard:
The shipyard will inform the visitors of the influence that the Korean navy had on both the isolation of the Korean society and its military strength. For example, visitors will be informed that when Japan invaded the dynasty in 1592, it was only because of the great Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who led a series of brilliant naval maneuvers against the Japanese, deploying the turtle ships, which are believed to be the world's first iron-clad battleships in defeating the naval armada in 1598. On land, volunteer peasant fighters and contingents of Buddhist monks engaged the Japanese who eventually withdraw from Korea in 1598 and lead to a self-imposed isolationist period in which it became known as the “Hermit Kingdom”.

A School:
Overall Purpose: The School will inform the visitors that under the reign of Joseon's fourth monarch, King Sejong the Great, Korea enjoyed an unprecedented flowering of culture and art. Under King Sejong's patronage, scholars at the royal academy created the Korean alphabet, called Hangeul. It was then called Hunminjeongeum, or "proper phonetic system to educate the people.

A Government Building: The government building will inform the visitors how a civil service examination system, which was created in 1392 by General Yi Seong-gye, became the main channel for recruiting government officials. The examinations also served as the backbone for social mobility and intellectual activity during that period.

Strategic Partnerships:
Strategic relationships can be formed with any of the following organizations
Korea America Friendship Society (KAFS)
The Korean American Cultural Foundation
The Center for Korean-American and Korean Studies
The Center for Korean Studies at Columbia University
The Center for Korean Studies (CKS) at UC Berkeley
The Center for Korean Studies at UCLA
The Korea Institute at Harvard University
The Asia Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities

Funding/ Income Generation Cultural Organizations, Corporate Sponsorships, Private Members Donations, Sale of Merchandise, Partnership with Public and Private Universities both either American or Korean.

Target Audiences: The target audience is everyone :-)

Visual Design Inspirations: The pictures below are from the Gyeongbokgung Palace and the The National Korean Folk Museum and I am using them for a visual understanding on how I would like the The Josenon Dynasty Museum and Research Center to be designed and the overall environment and experience I hope to create for the visitors.