National Gugak Museum

The National Gugak Center is the representative national arts institution of South Korea dedicated to preserving Korean traditional performing arts. It pursues gugak (traditional Korean music) that engages with the public and promotes Korean gugak globally through various performances, academic research, gugak education, and international exchanges.

The National Gugak Center traces its origins to the court music institutions that have been passed down since the Silla period. After the liberation on August 15, the court music institution was disbanded, and it continued as the Guwanggung Aakbu (Royal Court Music Department), later becoming the National Gugak Center in 1951. The organization of the National Gugak Center was announced in 1950, but due to the war, it opened in Busan in 1951. After the recovery, it moved through buildings in Unni-dong and Jangchung-dong before relocating to its current building in Seocho-dong in 1987.