The JBNU University Museum's tailored programs, run to improve cultural access for rural students and local residents and to share cultural assets with the community, have been met with strong support from local residents.
The museum operates 'Museum, Into the Community', a program to nurture future local talent as part of a national university development program, and the museum storage opening program 'Open the Storage!'.
'Museum, Into the Community' is a hands-on educational program that reconfigures the museum's artifacts into educational content and brings it directly to schools. Through a variety of activities—storytelling with historical documents, traditional printing culture experiences, artifact puzzles, pottery demonstrations, and assembling decorative ridge-end tiles—students are able to see and engage with cultural heritage firsthand.
Launched in 2019, the program is now in its seventh year and has proven particularly popular among rural students. This year the program was expanded from twice annually to three times. In August it was conducted for all students at Namwon Seowon Elementary School and Inwol Elementary School, and an additional session is scheduled for the second half of the year.
From October, 'Open the Storage!' will also continue, opening the museum's storage to local residents and members of the university community. By opening storage facilities that are not normally accessible to the public, the program aims to raise awareness of the importance of collection management and preservation. It is linked with a career exploration program for youth and the general public called 'I Can Be a Curator.' Participants can experience real curator tasks such as preparing artifact inventory documentation and packaging, learning what it means to manage cultural heritage.
'Open the Storage!' runs from October through January of next year on the second and fourth Tuesday and Thursday of each month. Each session accepts 15 participants by advance registration. Information on how to participate can be found in the notices on the JBNU University Museum website.