Cheongju Early Printing Museum, Printing museum in Cheongju, South Korea
Cheongju Early Printing Museum is a printing museum in South Korea focused on early printing techniques, displaying metal type, woodblock prints, tools, and historical documents. The collection traces how printing methods developed and changed across different periods.
The museum opened in 1992 near the site of Heungdeoksa Temple, where the Jikji was printed in 1377 using metal type, making it one of the earliest metal-printed books in the world. This location anchors the institution to a major turning point in printing history.
Printing became woven into Korean craftspeople's identity over centuries, and visitors can see the methods and materials that artisans actually used in their work.
The museum offers guided tours and hands-on workshops in traditional metal type printing where visitors can try the techniques themselves. A well-stocked shop sells printing-related learning materials and souvenirs to take home.
Since 2011, the museum has run the Koryo Metal Type Restoration Project, painstakingly recreating thousands of letter stamps from the Goryeo period. The project reveals how modern craftspeople study and revive historical printing techniques through hands-on reconstruction work.
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