The War Childhood Museum’s exhibition ‘Childhood Under the Siege: Sarajevo 1992-1995’ was opened earlier today at the Seoul Museum of History, South Korea. This is the WCM’s first major exhibition outside of Europe and its largest traveling exhibition to date.
The exhibition opening was planned for early May to coincide with “Children’s Day,” which has been celebrated every May 5th in South Korea since 1923. This holiday was introduced by the writer and activist Bang Jeong-hwan to promote children’s rights around the world and in societies where children were exploited. This day, deeply cherished by South Korean children, is seen as a second birthday, a celebration of their place and value in society.
‘Childhood Under the Siege: Sarajevo 1992-1995’ features 38 exhibits and stories, alongside ten video testimonies from individuals who spent their childhoods in the besieged city of Sarajevo and other areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, the exhibition includes an interactive installation, a replica of one found in the museum’s permanent exhibition in Sarajevo. This section engages visitors with various child-friendly activities such as tying ribbons, sticking stickers, drawing, and playing with LEGO bricks. Specially chosen scents and sounds further enhance the experience, enabling visitors to reconnect with their childhood memories. In the exhibition, QR codes are also provided, offering access to audio versions of the stories in Korean.
Expanding the Narrative Beyond Sarajevo
Recognizing that the South Korean audience may be unfamiliar with the Bosnian War and the Siege of Sarajevo, the exhibition includes concise texts that provide context. It broadens the narrative with stories from other Bosnian towns like Srebrenica, Zavidovići, Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla, and Cazin, illustrating that the siege of Sarajevo is part of a broader national experience during the war.
International Collaboration to Promote Peace
The exhibition’s grand opening saw participation from numerous dignitaries in Seoul’s political and cultural sectors, including directors of leading museums and cultural institutions. Speeches were delivered by Choi Byung Goo, Director of the Seoul Museum of History; Jasminko Halilović, Founder and Director-General of the War Childhood Museum; Seon Jung Kim, Director of ICOM Korea; and the Seoul Government’s Ambassador for International Relations, Goo Hong Seok.
“The exhibition ‘Childhood Under the Siege: Sarajevo 1992-1995’ aims to encourage empathy in visitors for what children who grew up during wars experienced, and also to spread the message of peace. We want our citizens to learn about the siege of Sarajevo, the longest siege in modern history. Since the opening of the exhibition coincides with Children’s Day in South Korea, our wish is to encourage all visitors to talk with their children about how significant peace is for all of us,” emphasized Choi Byung Goo, Director of the Seoul Museum of History.
“This exhibition is an example of what museums, when united, can do together to promote peace. I visited the exhibition of the War Childhood Museum at a conference in Prague in 2022, and I am extremely pleased that it can now be visited by our country’s audience,” stated Seon Jung Kim, director of the Korean ICOM. The Ambassador for International Relations of the Seoul government, Goo Hong Seok, thanked the Seoul Museum of History for organizing the exhibition, describing it as “an important cultural cooperation between two distant Museums that share a common goal of promoting peace.”
Jasminko Halilović, Founder and Director-General of the War Childhood Museum, welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their hospitality. “This is our first major exhibition outside Europe. I am part of the generation that grew up in besieged Sarajevo. My city was systematically destroyed. However, we who survived managed to document and tell our stories. I want cities that are being destroyed in wars today to also survive. I want their citizens to survive and one day be able to tell their stories from which we will learn. I want us all to work more for peace,” said Halilović, who will hold a series of lectures for various audiences in Seoul in the coming days.
The Exhibition Coordinator of the WCM, Ivana Roso, together with the curator of the Seoul museum, guided guests through the exhibition. This, along with a balloon release ceremony, concluded the official opening. The exhibition is scheduled to run through August 25th. Organizers anticipate it will draw approximately 200,000 visitors, setting a new record as the most-attended exhibition of the War Childhood Museum and marking a significant milestone for the Bosnian museum scene.
