Donuimun Museum Village (돈의문박물관마을)

Donuimun Museum Village is a historical and cultural space situated in the city center reborn through Seoul-style urban generation while still maintaining its historical value as the first village within the western gate of Hanyangdoseong as well as the lives and memories from the city's modern and contemporary era.

Together with the neighboring area surrounding Gyonam-dong, Jongno-gu, Donuimun Museum Village was selected for inclusion in the "Donuimun New Town" in 2003 for which all of the existing buildings were to be torn down to construct a neighborhood park. But the city of Seoul had another plan in mind; it wanted to maintain this small village, where the old lives and memories are still well-preserved, as a village museum to not only spread the historical significance of Saemunan Village, the first neighborhood within the western gate of Hanyangdoseong (the Seoul City Wall) but also establish the village as a historical and cultural asset for all Seoul citizens. The village was remodeled while keeping the buildings as untouched as possible and, in a few sites where houses had been torn down, broad yards were created. As a result, the warm and affectionate appearance of the village including modern structures, urban-style hanok, and streets with 100 years of history still remain today in their original places to be reborn as a place of new culture enjoyed and experienced by citizens.

Today, Donuimun Museum Village welcomes visitors with a new concept, "100 Years of Seoul, Time Travel Playground in the City." The village has undergone a significant overhaul to fill itself with "participation-style" spaces and contents where exhibits, experience sessions, performances, and marketplaces are held year-round while keeping 40 or so existing buildings intact in order to solidify its identity as a "living museum village," which is the original intention behind the village's creation.