문화체육관광부 대한민국역사박물관

원본 포스터 다운로드
포스터
Special Exhibition for the 80th Anniversary of Korea’s Liberation Returning to Ourselves:
Reclaiming Our History 1945-1948

Period: December 18, 2025 (Thursday) - March 31, 2026 (Tuesday)

Venue: Special Exhibition Gallery(3rd Floor)

Admission: Free

Opening hours: 10:00am-6:00pm

  • Opening hours will be extended to 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
    (Last admission is one hour before the closing time.)
  • For inquiries, please call +82-02-3703-9200

Introduction


In 2025, as we mark the 80th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation, we pause once more to reflect on the profound meaning of restoration.
The three years between Liberation in 1945 and the establishment of the Republic in 1948 were far more than a transition from Japanese colonial rule to independence. They were an intense and determined journey to reclaim stolen names, to set right the history distorted by oppression, and to restore the language, culture, and collective memory long denied. It was also a time when new commemorative days were established—moments through which Koreans reaffirmed their identity, both as individuals and as a united community.
This exhibition sheds light on the fervent efforts to reclaim our true and whole identity amid the upheaval of liberation. We invite you to experience the hopes and determination of that time—driven by an earnest longing to become fully ourselves again and to shape a new nation together.
When Language Returned, Life Began Anew
The most profound change that liberation brought was the freedom to speak our own language once again. Korean voices returned to newspapers and radio broadcasts, children filled classrooms with the sound of learning Hangul (Korean Language) and people wrote their names in Korean—some for the first time—rediscovering themselves through the act of writing. In these everyday scenes, people felt life transforming around them. Restoring our language became the essential first step in washing away the traces of colonial rule and rebuilding our identity and agency as a nation.
1. Returning Our Language
Malmoi
Malmoi (A Gathering of Words) — the first manuscript of the Korean dictionary
Joseonmal Keun Sajeon
Joseonmal Keun Sajeon (Great Dictionary of the Korean Language) — the first published Korean dictionary
First facsimile edition of Hunminjeongeum Haerye
First facsimile edition of Hunminjeongeum Haerye
2. Reclaiming Our Names
Reclaiming Our Language
Reclaiming Our Language

Report cards with a Recovered Name 1 Report cards with a Recovered Name 2
Report cards with a Recovered Name
3. Taking Our First Steps Together in Hangul
Hangul Cheot Georeum
Hangul Cheot Georeum (The First Steps in Learning Hangul) — the first Korean language textbook published after Liberation

Admission pass for the Hangul training workshop held immediately after Liberation
Admission pass for the Hangul training workshop held immediately after Liberation

Reconnecting Ourselves with History
In the years immediately following liberation, Korean society undertook a collective effort to rebuild a truthful understanding of its own history—an urgent task after decades of distortion and suppression. Newly compiled textbooks and republished works clarified national awareness of history and territory, while the restoration of damaged cultural heritage and the founding of new national museums served as vital bridges connecting the past to the present. The revival of traditional culture long suppressed under colonial rule helped restore bonds within the community. Efforts to reconnect a past severed under colonial rule and to restore the continuity of our history continued.
1. Publishing New Textbooks and Reprinting Banned Books
Guksa Gyobon
Guksa Gyobon (National History Textbook) — published by Jindan Academic Society
Secondary Korean Geography Textbook
Secondary Korean Geography Textbook — published after Liberation
2. Restoring Cultural Heritage and Building Museums
Jindan Hakbo (Journal of the Jindan Academic Society) Volume 1
Jindan Hakbo (Journal of the Jindan Academic Society) Volume 1
Guksae Chikmyeongjibo
Guksae Chikmyeongjibo (Seal of Imperial Command)
Guidebook of the National Museum of Korea
Guidebook of the National Museum of Korea
Bronze vessel with an unusual form excavated from the Hou-chong Tomb
Bronze vessel with an unusual form excavated from the Hou-chong Tomb
국립민족박물관 현판
Signboard of the National Museum of Ethnology
Gojeok (Archaeological Sites) — Bulletin of the Incheon Municipal Museum
Gojeok (Archaeological Sites) — Bulletin of the Incheon Municipal Museum
3. Reviving Tradition
Letter from Song Seok-ha
Letter from Song Seok-ha
Certificate from the 2nd National Nongak
Certificate from the 2nd National Nongak (Korean traditional farmers’ percussion performance) competition
Standing Altogether
Historical figures and events once concealed or forbidden under Japanese rule came back into focus through books, theater, commemorative ceremonies, and other public media. Honoring independence patriots and establishing national commemorative days helped restore collective memory and strengthen unity among communities once scattered. Sharing these memories became a vital source of spiritual strength, guiding Koreans toward the building of a new nation.
1. Rediscovering Our Heroes
The Hague Secret Envoys
The Hague Secret Envoys - Korean Delegation to the 1907 Peace Conference
Poster of national martyrs
Poster of national martyrs
Palsapumdo
Palsapumdo (Painting on Eight Royal Awards from Ming Dynasty) — a folding screen featured in the special exhibition marking the 401st anniversary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s birth
2. Commemorating and Remembering
The March First Commemorative Poetry Collection
The March First Commemorative Poetry Collection
Dongnip Sinmun
Dongnip Sinmun (Independence Newspaper), Shanghai edition — special issue published for National Foundation Day
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