Greetings and welcome to the National Maritime Museum of Korea. Our museum focuses on excavating, exhibiting, preserving, and studying both domestic and international maritime culture and heritage. Our main goal is to educate the public about maritime culture.

In today’s tour, together with me, you will get to explore a variety of maritime cultural artifacts, including records, arts, and everyday cultural practices that our ancestors have collected during their lives near the sea. Now let’s get ready to dive into the essence of Korea’s maritime cultural history.

Let’s begin by watching the introductory video located at the entrance of the exhibition hall. The video you're currently watching is a video inspired by the 'Bangudae Petroglyphs' in Ulsan with a central theme of "We are a maritime nation with maritime DNA". These petroglyphs, now designated as a national treasure, depict Neolithic inhabitants of the Korean Peninsula hunting whales, which are hundreds of times their size, by venturing into the open sea in small boats and using harpoons. This video aims to convey that our nation has actively utilized the sea for living since prehistoric times.