공간이 주는 경험, 경험을 통한 공감: 국립민속박물관 어린이박물관 전시개편 사례 소개

Abstract

This presentation introduces the preparation process and contents of one of the main exhibitions in the Children’s Museum, which was newly reformed after the COVID-19 pandemic, and through the result of the audience survey conducted after the opening, explores its characteristics recognized by audience. According to some researches, distribution of smartphones, mega-hit contents for infants and toddlers, bullying problems, and the COVID-19 pandemic are major social phenomena that have huge influence on children’s lives today. After the outbreak of the pandemic, in 2020, about 1.2 billion children worldwide went through the deficiency of education, shelter and hygiene. This suggests that museums also need to concern about overcoming and recovering from the pandemic situations. How much space has our society developed for children and how much has our children’s experience expanded since 1923, when the first Children’s Day was declared a hundred years ago? Children’s Day is not just a day to give them presents and take them to amusement parks. It also means that we should make effort to build a safe environment for children to have fun, listen to great stories and grow up with sensitivity appropriate to them. The exhibition of the Children’s Museum in the National Folk Museum of Korea titled Children’s Day - Funny Tales by Mr. Bang draws on the stories and thoughts of Bang Jeong-hwan. It tries to create a space where everyday is like Children’s Day, where adults, all of whom were once children, can also feel the same, and where the idea of Bang Jeong-hwan, who cherished children and tried to celebrate childhood, is fully expressed. A space preference survey for audience was consulted in the planning stage, which resulted in the arrangement of spaces dividing physical activities and experiences based on museum materials for each age group. The contents are not concentrated in one place but scattered around in places simulating various locations in the stories. Children’s Day intends to create a space that makes a child think independently. It intends to become an exhibition that reminds us the value and significance of childhood, and further, a space as a metaphor of our hope that all children can learn, have fun and grow in a happy and enjoyable environment. It strategically subdivides the experience zone into several sections which cover a wide range of experiences from those focusing on intuition to those focusing on logical thinking, each of which can also be adjusted according to the unit of visitors, such as for a sole person or for a family of two or more. In addition, children’s favorite animals appear as main characters of the tales presented by Bang Jeong-hwan. At the beginning of the space, the study of Bang Jeong-hwan is recreated to show, through the display of historical materials about Children’s Day from a hundred years ago, his effort to promote the idea that children must be respected and loved. The structure of this exhibition is largely divided into three parts: ‘The Fairy-tale World of Bang Jeong-hwan,’ ‘The World of Bang Jeong-hwan’s Stories,’ and ‘A World of Children as Dreamed by Bang Jeong-hwan.’ For example, ‘The Fairy-tale World of Bang Jeong-hwan’ presents stories published in children’s newspapers and magazines including Children. They are Jobless Pig, Magpie’s Clothing, Who is the Oldest? and The Country Mouse’s Sightseeing in Seoul. Animals, which has long been the subject of research and exhibit education in the National Folk Museum of Korea, play the role of main characters this time so that children can easily learn and experience the nature and folk symbols of the animals. It also presents original relics so that the connection between the stories and the folk relics as well as the concept and value of museum collection can be conveyed. The relics presented here include the old bags and hats of postmen from the story The Country Mouse’s Sightseeing in Seoul, and from Jobless Pig, Odonggyejado (Painting of Paulownia Tree, Chickens and Five Chicks), which illustrates the symbolic meaning of the animal, dakdunguri (straw chicken nest), children’s picture books and piggy banks from the period. Especially, the exhibition featured, for the first time, the original <Geumgangkkem (Diamond Game,)> a board game that Bang Jeong-hwan produced with enthusiasm and which was provided as a bonus for the February issue of the magazine Children in 1929, and <World Invention Board,> which was the supplement of the 1931 issue of the same magazine. In addition to the display of the original relics, their characteristics are utilized to develop exhibits available for physical activities and operation, as well as to create activity sheets for children around nine years old. After the opening, a survey on contents preference of the audience was conducted through interviews and questionnaires to derive basic information that would help improve the exhibition. The analysis of the result shows that digital experiences with intuitive operations and activities utilizing gross motor skills and senses such as hopping, pumping and clapping are highly preferred by infants. For example, three-year-olds showed high degree of concentration on the introductory animation video presenting Bang Jeong-hwan character and on the creative production corner, while four-year-olds were more curious about the interactive experience where they could react intuitively during repetitive physical activity. Kids from five to seven years old were more intrigued in the type of experience where they could answer a quiz and get a fun reward. They strongly concentrated on the exhibits that give them a mission and sense of duty. The accompanying guardians of the children especially preferred the experience where the kids listened to unfamiliar words and sentences and were helped to understand them. The audience’s response to the survey and their creations made it clear that most children learned fairly well about the connection between Bang Jeong-hwan and Children’s Day through the exhibition. The planning process of this exhibition and the survey results were significantly helpful for redirection of children’s space after the pandemic. They also suggest that, to create a space where children can feel empathy through various experiences, there should always be deep pondering about its contents, whether they fit to the level of each child, and of course, about the future of the children. Continuous audience survey and comparison can help verify the direction of the exhibitions in children’s museums. This presentation tries to give an idea of the effort to create an exhibition where children can have fun and learn at the same time.