The National Palace Museum of Korea Presents
“KoreanEmpire Passport” as the Curator’s Choice for October
- The National PalaceMuseum of Korea Presents Its “Korean Empire Passport”
as the Curator’s Choicefor October
Jipjo (A Korean EmpireDocument for Overseas Travel) to be Showcased
in the Gallery and Online /Starting October 6-
The National Palace Museum of Korea (Director: Kim In Kyu),an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, has selected itsKorean Empire Passport (known in Korean as a jipjo) as its “Curator’sChoice from the Royal Treasures” for the month of October. In addition to beingdisplayed in the permanent Korean Empire gallery on the 1F floor of the museum,the document will be presented virtually in a YouTube broadcast startingOctober 6.
* NationalPalace Museum of Korea YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gogungmuseum
** CulturalHeritage Administration YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chluvu
A jipjo is a document demonstrating theholder’s eligibility to travel abroad. It features text in three languages (Literary Chinese, English, and French) that requests cooperation and asks thatthe bearer of the document be allowed to pass through national borders. Thedate of issuance, personal information of the bearer, place of departure, anddestination were added by hand, and the document was stamped with the seals ofthe Imperial Korean Foreign Office and the office requesting the issuance. Each jipjo took the form of a single sheet of paper printed with a Taegeukgiand a plum blossom, the symbols of the Korean Empire, at the center-top of thedocument.
*** The ImperialKorean Foreign Office (Oebu): The institution that was responsible fordiplomatic affairs and the issuance of jipjo (equivalent to thepresent-day Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
The documentfeatured as the Curator’s Choice was issued to a resident of Hanseong (nowSeoul) named Yi Sang Mok (1890 – ?) who had been selected to study abroad inJapan. The document states that Yi has been granted permission to undertake avoyage to Tokyo from Incheon. The passport offers a better understanding of theborder control system of the Korean Empire.
**** Office of Education(Hakbu): The institution responsible for educational affairs (equivalent to the present-day Ministry of Education)
The museum may currently be accessed only in accordance with the requirements in place to reduce the potential forthe spread of COVID-19. Those who are unable to visit the gallery in person canstill enjoy this month’s Curator’s Choicevirtually through a video with Korean and English subtitles available on themuseum’s website (gogung.go.kr). Our visitors can also see on the YouTube channels of the museum and of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea.
Division: TheNational Palace Museum of Korea
Exhibition &Publicity Division
Contact person: Lim Gyeong-hee (02-3701-7631), Lee Ji-hye (02-3701-7634)