Explore Korean history dating back to the first century at the “Gaya Spirit” exhibit

The National Museum of Korea first opened their special exhibit, "Gaya Spirit ― Iron and Tune”,  at the end of 2019. However, the museum staff couldn’t have possibly expected having to close their doors so soon after.

The limited-time showcase was originally created to highlight the rich culture and heritage of a lesser known period of Korean history, the Gaya Confederacy, which took place from the year 42 to 532. While the exhibit was set to run until March 2020, COVID-19 and necessary safety precautions made it seemingly impossible to share the over 2,600 Gaya relics with the public. So, the museum had to get creative. 

In collaboration with dataking, a Korean company which specializes in 360 VR and big data technology, they began to capture a digital recreation of the exhibit.

Due to the nature of special showcases such as “Gaya Spirit,” visitors typically only have a brief window of time to explore all of the relics and artifacts. However, a digital twin means that the public can safely visit the exhibition now and for generations to come, even when the physical space changes to host a new collection.

We spoke to Sunstar, the CEO and founder of dataking, to learn more about the project and his company’s work with the National Museum of Korea.

Q: What inspired the 3D capture of Gaya Spirit - Iron and Tune?

우리가 박물관에 이 기술을 적용하게 된 계기는 영화와 드라마와 달리 박물관 전시는 특정 전시기간이 종료되면 다시 볼 수가 없다는 점입니다. 전시기간이 끝나도 언제든 볼수 있도록 아카이브를 제공하고

그리고 박물관 전시를 꼭 봐야되는 학생들이 COVID19로 박물관이 문을 닫은 상태에서도 볼수 있도록 온라인전시를 만들게 되었습니다.

Our motivation to apply this technology to the museum was to overcome the fact that, unlike movies and plays, museums have a fixed schedule for their exhibitions, which normally are shown during a shorter window of time. We decided to create a digital archive for the online museum where users such as students could experience “visiting” the digital twin. This is especially beneficial right now because of COVID-19.

Q: What are the “must-sees” you want visitors to explore and why?

BC520년에 철기 문명을 가진 왕국의 모습을 담고 있습니다.  철로만든 갑옷과 음악을 사랑하는 문화왕국의 이중적인 생활모습을 담고 있습니다

There is one area where a kingdom which existed during the Iron Age (around 520 B.C.) is featured. This exhibit is highly interesting, as it shows the diverse interests of this kingdom’s culture, ranging from heavy armor to art and music.

Q: What’s the one thing you want visitors to take away after exploring?

사회적약자(장애인,노인,어린이)도 집에서 편안하게 박물관을 볼 수 있도록 온라인VR박물관 경험을 제공하고자 합니다

We especially want young, elderly and physically-handicapped people to enjoy the experiences of visiting the online museum from the comfort and safety of home.

Q: How has the response been from viewers of the space?

누구나 처음에 사이트를 열련 wow ~하는 포인트를 가지고 있으며 Jan 29, 2020 제작된후 48.8K 관람이 있을정도로 관심이 높습니다

Almost anyone who first visits the museum has expressed their amazement — many have been “wowed” by the appearance! Since J an. 29, 2020, the total number of visitors has exceeded 48,000.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

데이터킹이 운영하는 온라인박물관 플랫폼 https://360vrmuseum.com/national-museum  및 국립중앙박물관 온라인전시 페이지 https://www.museum.go.kr/site/eng/content/vr_museum 에서 누구나 무료로 관람할 수 있습니다. 

Both the online museum platform run by dataking and the virtual Korean National Museum are open to anyone interested in visiting.