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The Role of Museums in Preserving National Identity through Cultural Heritage:

A Case Study of the National Museum of Colombia and the National Museum of Korea

Artículo

Daniela Millan

Abstract

Throughout history, museums have constituted art and culture platforms with defined and specific roles regarding cultural heritage such as collection and display, but when they are considered and designated as promoters of narratives about the symbols and history of the Nation, they can also start playing an important part in the development and preservation of national identity, due to the influence that these narratives have on concepts that participate in the conformation of this identity, such as what is considered traditional, emblematic or symbolic, statement that is further developed by analyzing the particular cases of the National Museums of Colombia and Korea and how a country’s identity and characteristic values are built around its historical events, highlighting the importance of cultural heritage beyond simply being a representation of the past.

1. Introduction

Museums are widely known to be the institutions that promote a country’s historical knowledge and contribute to the preservation of traditional artifacts, thus representing a cultural space where heritage is honored and taught, but considering that the way this heritage is displayed and signified can have a direct impact on the ongoing construction of concepts and ideas a person has about their own country, can it be said that museums play an important role in the preservation and construction of national identity? To answer this question, the present article explores the cases of two museums in specific; the National Museum of Colombia and the National Museum of Korea, and analyzes how some of the strategies and projects that have been carried out by each country, according to their particular history and values, have impacted the sense of national identity, with the purpose of further demonstrating that museums do not only represent fixed knowledge but also narratives in relation to how different events have shaped the country, and what those changes represent to this day; reaffirming that, as the Director-General of the National Museum of Korea, Choe Kwang-Shik (2009) has argued, “Museums doubtless constitute a cultural space, but they also serve as the locus of the legitimacy of the state, because they assemble, preserve and display the symbols of its authority.”

2. The National Museum of Colombia: an identity based on memory and peace

Framed within scarcity and hardships, Colombia has consolidated itself through the years in contexts that can be considered rather adverse. This has directly impacted the way in which its heritage and history are displayed and approached by cultural entities because it has caused the focus to be directed towards developing divulgation projects based on premises like “a Nation who does not know its history is condemned to repeat it” (phrase by Spanish poet and philosopher George Santayana) and overall centered in the concept of “memory”. This tendency can be evidenced in many of the temporary and permanent exhibitions done by the National Museum of Colombia, such as Memory and Nation (permanent exhibition), Present, past and future of peace in Colombia (2018), The unarmed word. Violence, Territory, Culture and Peace (2018) and A museum for me (2020- 2021) to name a few, all of which revolve around the search for peace and restoration of the country after it was affected by prolonged periods of violence.

These narratives are presented by the National Museum in ways that go according to what the state wants its citizens to infer due to the fact that, as said by Quinaya, D. P. (2015) “a museum can socialize discourses to the public that could become the base of the ideas citizens have about social order”, meaning that, even when considering the possibility of the emergence of varied interpretations that depend on the individual, these cultural entities can still interfere with the process by choosing what to display or not (additional to how it is done), and that is where the role that goes beyond presenting just a subject or an artifact starts. 

Now, in Colombia, as mentioned above, periods of violence have largely shaped present discourses due to their substantial negative impacts in the community, and this has resulted in a perceived national identity whose history, regardless of how it is interpreted, symbolizes a lesson, reason for which the concept of “memory” interpreted as the act of not forgetting is so crucial and the pursuit of peace is a constant in modern Colombian society.

Having said that, it can be evidenced that the National Museum of Colombia does have a role in the consolidation and preservation of national identity, and it is somewhat exerted within dynamics that prompt the construction of the idea of what can be called a “Nation” through the revision of past events in the hope of working for a peaceful future, thus encouraging the adoption of an identity based on recognition, acceptance and the need to restructure rather than grievance or denial, which can ultimately, as the state wants, consolidate the country’s brand. 

3. The National Museum of Korea: an identity based on courage and progress

The Republic of Korea is no stranger to conflict and disaggregation, but since the establishment of the Imperial Museum of Korea in 1908, these cultural institutions have represented a space where the Nation legitimates itself and represents the patterns of Korean society. Therefore, by knowing and analyzing this country’s history and how it has been represented by the museums that have emerged over the past hundred years, the way in which national identity has been transformed can be well evidenced, and the possible future direction in which cultural projects should be developed can also be indicated. 

Starting in 1909, when the Imperial Museum of Korea officially opened its doors to the general public in the Changgyeonggung Palace, the main strategy Emperor Sunjong suggested was to display artifacts from the Silla, Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, so that the civilians who had never been able to see items belonging only to higher classes, could begin to develop a sense of belonging to the Nation. This set a precedent in the relationship between the government and the people and created a completely new sense of national identity that would, in the following years, lead to the development of a tendency to protect Korean identity amidst Japanese occupation.

Almost 45 years later, after Korea was finally liberated from the Japanese and the Korean War ended; in 1953, the National Museum (established in 1945) was relocated to a branch it had in Namsan after being deeply affected by the war, and the role it carried in the preservation of national identity was greater than before and still fundamental to this day. In addition to what Emperor Sunjong did during his reign, the Korea of the liberation era needed not only cohesion but also legitimacy and a reconstruction of national identity overall, a situation that further solidified the functions of museums in this country (beyond research and exhibition) and was evidenced by the multiple relocations of the National Museum that followed until 2005, when it was finally situated at the Yongsan Family Park.

Regarding the specific cultural extension strategies developed by the National Museum of Korea, one of the best examples is the Centennial Commemorative Project, which not only involved the National Museum but unified up to 600 culture and art entities all over the country to reflect on the last hundred years of Korean history with two main objectives: first, just like Emperor Sunjong did in 1909, get Korean people to feel closer and more connected to museums (and therefore their own history and culture) to reinforce national identity and solidify the State to a greater extent; And second, through history consideration, evaluate the possible courses of action to be taken in relation to the future of the Nation, so that the Republic of Korea could continue striving for growth and establish itself as a global power.

 

Furthermore, even though the cultural heritage promotion strategies and projects effectuated by the National Museum of Korea are arguably aligned to determined agendas that may vary depending on the historical moment, it can be said that there has been a constant since its establishment in terms of the character of the national identity that has been encouraged, and that is the foundation on values such as courage and progress. This can be understood throughout history as the capacity and constant pursuit of moving forward in contexts such as the post-Japanese liberation, post-Korean War and even globalization eras, a circumstance that certainly illustrates the role of museums since they first started operating in the country in the preservation and construction of Korea’s national identity.

4. Conclusion

As has been shown, the importance of museums, and especially of those that bear the title of “National” museums, can go beyond what is initially expected of spaces mainly dedicated to art and history, particularly due to the influence they can exert on certain viewpoints people might have at any given time. Therefore, it can be said that they do have an essential role in relation to the concept of national identity, not only because they have contributed to the construction of this concept since their inception, but also because, given that national identity is a mutable entity, they also play an important part in reshaping and preserving it, a role that can be played through cultural and artistic projects, as illustrated in the two main cases previously mentioned.

Moreover, it should also be noted that in spite of the fact that these narratives are meant to have a certain impact on the viewer, as they are not commonly presented as fixed knowledge, personal interpretations are still encouraged and are what ultimately forge individual experiences of national identity, along with other instances, so it cannot be stated that the preservation and conformation of national identity is a role exclusively for museums, but what they represent as platforms for the state and its particular necessities can definitely be elucidated and will still require further study in the near future.

Referencias

Lee, J. E. (2007). Behind the scenes at the New National Museum of Korea: an investigation of the museum’s role in constructing notions of Korean national identity. University of Leicester (United Kingdom). 

Kwang-Shik, C. (2009). 100 years of Korean museums: history and meaning. Korean Art and Archaeology, 11.

Jang, S. H. (2015). A representation of nationhood: The National Museum of Korea (Doctoral dissertation, University of Leicester).

Quinaya, D. P. (2015). El Museo Nacional de Colombia y la construcción de una idea de Nación: la exposición temporal a las historias de un grito. Doscientos años de ser colombianos. Universidad del Valle (Colombia). 

Muñoz, L. X. V. (2017). El Museo Nacional de Colombia y las representaciones de lo nacional: reflexiones sobre la paz y la globalización. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, (158).

Jang, S. H. (2020). A Representation of Nationhood in the Museum. Routledge.

Carreño, G. A. G., López, P. D. C., & Oyuela, C. J. R. (2020). La memoria histórica del Museo Nacional: construcción de identidad para una nación y la historia oral como herramienta innovadora.

 

Conceptos Académicos para SEO
Cultural heritage
Culture
Museums
Heritage preservation

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