Seoul museum turns history into living journey with AR glasses

The Seoul Museum of History is introducing a new way to experience the city's past through a pilot project titled Time Travel in Seoul. Visitors at the museum's third-floor exhibition hall now wear augmented reality glasses to view digital recreations of historical landmarks and everyday life. The technology overlays 3D content onto the environment in real time as people move through the space.

The project displays items such as a 3D model of the Donuimun Gate from the Joseon Dynasty and scenes of 20th-century life including a Gyeongseong streetcar and a period rickshaw. The final phase of the experience brings visitors into a digital recreation of modern Seoul featuring the 1988 Olympics mascot and the city's guardian character, Haechi.

This initiative comes from a collaboration between the museum, Qualcomm, and spatial computing company Hypercloud. The partners created this exhibit to demonstrate a smart museum model where visitors actively engage with history rather than watching static displays. The setup includes an indoor positioning system that triggers content automatically based on where the visitor stands.

Participants also follow a guide named Gatssaeng Doryeong to complete an interactive mission. Users collect virtual cards of historical artifacts while moving through the exhibition. These cards lead to additional audio guides and quizzes about specific historical eras.

The program is free to the public and runs through October 31. Interested visitors must make on-site reservations at the rental booth near the third-floor exhibition hall. Space is limited to small groups of four to five people per session.