National Women's History Exhibition Hall Fully Revamps Permanent Exhibition After 12 Years, Opens 'Voices'

Highlighting the History of the Korean Women's Rights Movement through Patriarchy, Labor, and Gender Violence
More than 140 Materials on Family Law Reform, Tongil Textile, "Comfort Women," and the Me Too Movement Revealed

The National Women's History Exhibition Hall is fully revamping its permanent exhibition hall for the first time in 12 years since relocating to Goyang. The first thematic permanent exhibition, titled 'Voices,' addresses the history of the Korean women's rights movement.

Poster for the permanent themed exhibition "Voices," presented by the National Museum of Korean Contemporary Women’s History starting on the 30th. The exhibition highlights the history of the Korean women's human rights movement, focusing on patriarchy, labor, and gender violence, showcasing over 140 items including related records and contemporary artworks. Photo by the National Museum of Korean Contemporary Women’s History

The National Women's History Exhibition Hall, operated by the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education (KIGEPE) under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, announced on September 29 that 'Voices' will be held at its permanent exhibition hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from September 30, 2026, to May 31, 2027.

This is the first time that the National Women's History Exhibition Hall has revamped its entire permanent exhibition hall since relocating to Goyang in 2014. Moving forward, the institution plans to adopt a rotating "permanent thematic exhibition" format, regularly changing the exhibition theme rather than maintaining a fixed display. The inaugural theme is "The History of the Korean Women's Rights Movement."

The exhibition is organized around three key issues: patriarchy, labor, and gender violence. It is divided into three sections, each of which questions norms and customs that were once regarded as self-evident in society, and retraces the history of women who took action to change them.

The first section, "Patriarchy," focuses on the movement to revise family law and abolish the patriarchal family registry system. Beginning with the work of Korea's first female lawyer, Lee Taeyoung, it introduces the process in which women's organizations, such as the Pan-Women's Family Law Revision Promotion Association, united in solidarity. The section also highlights actions taken by cultural groups including the women artists' collective Ip-gim, as well as efforts from various sectors to challenge patriarchal structures.

The second section, "Labor," explores the flow of women's labor movements in the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on incidents at Tongil Textile and YH Trading. It showcases the emergence of democratic women’s unions, private childcare movements, and the campaigns to abolish gender-based mandatory retirement age, presenting activities aimed at tackling inequality in the workplace.

The third section, "Gender Violence," addresses issues such as sexual violence, domestic violence, prostitution, and the victims of the Japanese military 'comfort women' system, framing these not as individual problems but as social and structural challenges. It also traces the trajectory of women's rights movements and the Me Too movement led by a new generation since 2016.

A unique aspect of the exhibition is the placement of historical records and contemporary art pieces in a single space. The display features about 140 pieces across 96 records, including documents from the family law revision movement, materials related to the Tongil Textile and YH Trading incidents, and video testimonies from 'comfort women' victims. Twelve contemporary artists—Kwon Sejeong, Kim Seokyung & Kim Woonseong, Kim Okseon, Kim Insun, Noh Wonhee, Bomroya, An Jeongju, An Haeryong, Lee Eunhong, Jeong Jeongyeop, Juhwang, among others—are also participating.

The exhibition also features materials related to Ip-gim's 'Avang Palace Jongmyo Occupation Project,' 1990s private childcare movements, campaigns for the abolition of gender-based retirement age, legislative movements against sexual violence, domestic violence, and prostitution, movements to address the issue of Japanese military 'comfort women' victims, and documentation of the Me Too movement.

Kang Sungeun, Director of the National Women's History Exhibition Hall, commented, "'Voices' is a record of the questions women have posed to claim their rights and the voices they have sustained to create a more democratic society. We hope visitors will be able to sense the social changes brought about by these questions and voices."

Admission to the exhibition is free of charge.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.