Cheongju Early Printing Museum

Cheongju Early Printing Museum opened in 1992 to widely promulgate the significance of Jikji and to collect, display, educate and research resources related to Korea's old printing culture. It is located across the street from the site of Heungdeoksa Temple where Jikji was originally published; its location was determined after the site of Heungdeoksa Temple was confirmed to be in Uncheon-dong, Cheongju-si in 1985. Jikji was listed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001 through the efforts of the city of Cheongju, and the area around this museum was designated “Jikji Cultural Zone” in 2007 for the purpose of managing various projects for Jikji to gain worldwide attention. This museum has developed into a specialized museum in early printing insofar as it encompasses printing cultures of the past, present, and future with the September 2013 opening of “Movable Metal Type Education Center” to preserve and transmit traditional movable metal type printing and the 2014 opening of “Exhibit Center for Modern and Contemporary Printing” that focuses on modern movable lead type technology.