In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Seopyeonje, we have prepared a special exhibition titled “The Seopyeonje Story.” Released in April 1993 at Danseongsa, Seopyeonje set the box office record, breaking the 1-million-viewer mark for the first time ever for a Korean film. This incident turned the attention of the viewers from foreign films to Korean films and also laid the foundation for the production of Korean films today, drawing over 10 million viewers.

The influence of a single motion picture on the cultural industry at large was immense. A story about pansori, Seopyeonje elicited the popular interest in Korean traditional culture, which had been neglected until then. In addition, the original novel written by LEE Cheong-jun and the original soundtrack for the film also became bestsellers. The film received great acclaim and praise not only in Korea, but also overseas, in various international film festivals. Seopyeonje was a successful starting point for pansori films, including IM Kwon-taek’s Chunhyang (2002) and Beyond the Years (2007). Therefore, its significance is still notable today, in the year of the 20th anniversary of its release.

This special exhibition showcases a number of articles and reviews on Seopyeonje from 1993, when the film was first screened, to 1994, as well as costumes of the characters in the film, about 20 award plaques, pansori records IM listened to for research, and other items.