Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Archives and History Museum (Director Lee Jeong-hwan) will hold a special exhibition on the university's history, 'JBNU, Walking the Path of Time,' which looks back on the 78 years since the university's founding. It will be on view from January 5 to February 28 in the first-floor Special Exhibition Hall of the JBNU University Museum.

This special exhibition was planned as part of the National University Development Project to open the university's records and historical materials as a cultural space accessible to the local community and to promote the value of archival culture. In particular, it focuses on significantly increasing accessibility and usability by digitizing the various materials held by the Archives and History Museum and providing them as online services.

Alongside the special exhibition on the university's history, curated from selected preserved records and historical materials, the project includes the digitization of approximately 60,000 pages of materials, including photographs and historical documents, and the production of exhibition design and content utilizing these resources. 

Part I, 'Taking Root in Scholarship,' presents photographic records of the university's formative moments, including the Iri Agricultural College and the School of Commerce during the Gunsan campus era—the precursors to JBNU—the first opening ceremony, and the commemorative photograph marking the authorization to establish JBNU. Some 40 items, including admission and graduation registers from the 1950s, campus views from the 1950s–60s, and graduation albums, are on display to trace the lives and traces of the university's early members.

Part II, 'Campus: A Time of Change and Integration,' unveils materials that present the evolution of the campus at a glance. Alongside application forms from the 2007 merger with Iksan University, the exhibition highlights JBNU's extensive campus network, which expanded from Jeonju to regional locations such as Iksan, Gochang, Jeongeup, Wanju, Gunsan and Namwon. 

Part III captures the daily life and passion of the JBNU community from admission to graduation. The tension of entrance exams, the excitement gathered in front of the list of successful candidates, exam admission tickets and acceptance letters, handwritten course registration forms and syllabi, densely filled lecture notes and research papers, and graduation theses—these records unfold the learning process. The bright smiles in diplomas and graduation albums convey the relief of completing one's studies and the resolve for a new beginning.

In the exhibition's final epilogue, a participatory space will be operated where visitors can leave memo cards with the JBNU images they wish to remember.

In addition, this October JBNU plans to open the 'JBNU History Hall' in the former university headquarters building (second floor above ground, 996 m²), creating a space to inspire historical awareness of the university's past, present and future and to share it with local residents and university members.

Lee Jeong-hwan, Director of the Archives and History Museum, said, 'I hope this special exhibition will serve as an opportunity to share the university's history and values and be a meaningful occasion to reflect on the time JBNU has walked together with the region.'