The Chusa Memorial Hall, built to commemorate the 240th anniversary of the birth of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui, is set to open.
Yesan County in South Chungcheong Province said Tuesday that the Chusa Memorial Hall will officially open on July 11 and begin full operations.
The Chusa Memorial Hall was created as a cultural complex spanning two above-ground floors with a total floor area of 2,727 square meters, offering functions for exhibition, education, experience, and cultural enjoyment.
The first floor features permanent exhibition spaces covering Chusa's Yesan, his journey to China, his scholarship, his works, his social exchanges, and elegies for Chusa. Centered on relics collected over the years, it offers an in-depth introduction to Chusa's life, scholarship, and artistic world, while providing a new viewing experience through diverse exhibition content such as media art that renders the four seasons of the Chusa Historic House in a contemporary style.
The second floor houses an experience space, a small lecture room, and a special planning space. Alongside the opening, the special exhibition 'Chusa Travels to Liaodong' presents about 20 relics centered on the roughly six-month journey Chusa made to Yanjing in 1809.
In addition, the exhibition sheds multidimensional light on Chusa's journey to China and his scholarly path by displaying the 'Chusa Pildamcheop,' a representative relic of the Chusa Museum in Gwacheon, together with materials related to his China journey from the Jeju Chusa Museum and relics held by the Chusa Memorial Hall.
With the opening of the Chusa Memorial Hall, the county plans to link Yesan's representative cultural heritage — the Chusa cultural resources of the Chusa Historic House, the graves of the Chusa family, and Hwaamsa Temple — to expand exhibition, education, and experience content and to promote cultural tourism.
"We will expand Chusa's spirit and values through various exhibitions, education, and academic programs, growing it into a cultural space that represents Yesan," Yesan County Mayor Choi Jae-gu said.
