National Gugak Museum

National Gugak Museum in Seoul is the dedicated public museum on Korean traditional music ("gugak") — covering ancient Three Kingdoms-period court music, traditional Korean instruments (gayageum, geomungo, daegeum, etc.), the gagok and pansori vocal traditions, and the modern continuation of these practices. The museum holds about 40,000 instruments, manuscripts, and recordings, plus bilingual interpretation that situates Korean music within broader East Asian musical history. Live demonstration sessions where visitors can hear traditional instruments played are scheduled regularly. The museum is part of the broader National Gugak Center complex, which also operates a 1,400-seat performance hall. Free entry. About 90 minutes. Pair with a National Gugak Center performance.