Busan is good

Recording Busan’s Modern and Contemporary History with Citizens: Busan Modern & Contemporary History Museum Operates “Urban Archive School”

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Busan Modern & Contemporary History Museum (hereinafter referred to as the Museum) announced that it will operate the “Urban Archive School” as part of its citizen-oriented archival program in 2026.

The Urban Archive School has been in operation since 2023 to promote the continuous discovery and collection of Busan’s modern and contemporary everyday life history through citizen-led archival activities. The program consists of four tracks: the regular course “Citizen Archivist Training Program,” the advanced course “Local Oral History Research Seminar,” the special course “Writing with Oral Materials,” and the sharing event “Busan Archive Festival.”

The regular course aims primarily to cultivate “citizen (oral) archivists” in order to establish a sustainable human foundation for documenting local everyday life history. The program consists of a total of 10 sessions and is designed to enhance educational effectiveness by combining theoretical lectures with field practice and workshops.

The course begins with a lecture by Professor Heo Young-ran (Department of History and Culture, University of Ulsan), who will provide a foundational understanding of oral history. Professor Cha Cheol-uk (Research Institute for Korean Studies, Pusan National University) will introduce regional studies of Busan and case studies of oral history research. Director Son Dong-yu (Archiving Network Research Institute Cooperative) will deliver lectures on specific methods of oral documentation, while workshops and field practice for oral documentation will be led by CEO Woo Dong-jun (Iljongui Gyeokryeo Co., Ltd.) and writer Lee Hyeon-gyeong (oral history practitioner).

The Museum has been offering opportunities for activity to citizen archivists who complete the regular course and, since 2025, has operated an advanced course to continuously accumulate records of local modern and contemporary everyday life history.

The advanced course is a program that carries out practical regional research and oral documentation activities. Starting tomorrow (the 2nd), it will be conducted with eight participants who completed the first and second cohorts and expressed interest. The activity area will be Eomgung-dong in Sasang-gu, a riverside village along the lower Nakdong River.

The Museum selected the Nakdong River and the Suyeong River—two major axes of Busan—and, in particular, sought to examine the city’s transformation from an ecology-based to an industry-centered structure through the everyday lives of residents in brackish water areas. As part of this effort, last year’s advanced course reconstructed changes in the Suyeong River estuary through residents’ oral testimonies.

To provide an overall understanding of the target area, Professor Jeon Seong-hyeon (Department of History, Dong-A University) will lecture on changes in the Nakdong River basin. Director Kim Han-geun (Pukyong Institute of Modern Historical Materials) will introduce the transformation of Eomgung-dong based on maps and photographs. Field trips are planned to examine local living environments and residents’ livelihoods, with on-site interpretation by researcher Kang Eun-su (Sasang Cultural Center). Oral documentation activities will be conducted in close cooperation with the Eomgung-dong Administrative Welfare Center.

The collection of residents’ oral testimonies and manuscript writing will be completed by the end of September, and the results will be shared with the public at the Busan Archive Festival to be held at the end of November.

As the importance of utilizing primary records continues to grow, a special course titled “Writing with Oral Materials” has been prepared as a workshop to produce a short written piece using oral materials. This course is open to all graduates of the Urban Archive School who wish to participate and will utilize the oral materials they have collected. In particular, it will be linked with the third cohort of the regular course to enhance the accuracy and usability of collected materials.

Applications for the regular course “Citizen Archivist Training Program (3rd Cohort)” are open to the general public. The first application period runs from today (the 1st) to April 15. Applicants can download the application form from the Museum’s website (busan.go.kr/mmch), complete it, and submit it via email to local85@korea.kr.

After the application deadline, final participants (15 individuals) will be selected through phone interviews assessing applicants’ motivation and experience. For further details, inquiries can be made to the Museum Operations Team (☎ +82-51-607-8034).

Kim Gi-yong, Director of Busan Modern & Contemporary History Museum, stated, “Through the Urban Archive School, a series of processes in which we record Busan’s modern and contemporary everyday life history together with citizens, we will create a Busan Modern & Contemporary History Museum filled with stories of the region and its people.”