[People’s Life History Museum] Promotional Opening Exhibit
Lee Il-yong, the Ship Carpenter from Bamseom Village
For the second promotional opening exhibit for the People’s Life History Museum set to open in March next year, Seoul will host the “Lee Il-yong, the Ship Carpenter from Bamseom Village” exhibit starting Tuesday, February 27 in the lobby of the Seoul Museum of History. It is the second promotional opening exhibit following last year’s, and displays the life story of Lee Il-yong, a ship carpenter who was born in Bamseom and spent his life building ships for a living.
Born in 1936 on the island, Lee Il-yong lived on Bamseom until 1968 when the island was demolished, and currently lives in Seongsan-dong, Mapo-gu. He donated 286 pieces of wooden tools and other items to the city of Seoul, which he had used for ship building in Bamseom.
Centered on the history of Bamseom and the life of Lee Il-yong, the exhibit consists of Part 1: Bamseom, the village where a ship carpenter lived, Part 2: Lee Il-yong the ship carpenter, and Part 3: Bamseom, the home he left. The exhibit will also display clips of an interview with Lee Il-yong, the tools and equipment donated by him, photos containing major scenes of his life, and more.
○ Part 1: Bamseom, the village where a ship carpenter lived: It displays many stories including his birth in 1936, abrupt education in Hangul upon liberation from the Japanese while in the third grade at Sogang Elementary School, and helping refugees cross the Hangang River in his ship during the Korean War when all the bridges were cut off.
○ Part 2: Lee Il-yong the ship carpenter: It displays the stories of his father teaching him the skill of ship building, and how he received a tool box, the symbol that identifies him as a specialist, in addition to around 70 pieces of various tools that he actually used in shipbuilding such as a saw, hammer, and plane.
○ Part 3: Bamseom, the home he left: An enormous flood in 1966 on the Hangang River caused great damage and loss, and the city subsequently decided to demolish Bamseom in order to obtain stone for construction of the Yeouido embankment. This part of the exhibit displays the story of Lee Il-yong’s departure from his beloved hometown of Bamseom in 1968, and how he heard the news of the collapsed Wau Apartments next to the town where he was relocated.
This exhibit focuses on the life of an individual, Lee Il-yong, who lived in a small island on the Hangang River, Bamseom, and through this shows the joys and sorrows of Seoul citizens who had to stay strong and carry out their lives amidst important events in our country’s modern history including the liberation, the Korean War, and forced relocation due to urban development. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of relocation from Bamseom, it will be a meaningful exhibit for people to look back into the history of Seoul through the life of an ordinary ship builder who was born in Bamseom and lived by keeping tradition.
Finally, with the goal of popular promotion of the museum, we expect many people’s interests, participation, and donation of artifacts to be even more stimulated in the process of the construction of the People’s Life History Museum, which is formed by the stories of the everyday lives of citizens.