2010.03.24 - 04.26

Bubosang, or Korean peddler merchants, first appeared during medieval times and were vital to pre-modern economies for their role of providing a connection between consumers, producers and middlemen. Bubosang refer to both ``busang,’’ who moved and sold large items such as wood and metal products, and ``bosang,’’ who handled smaller items carried around in sacks.
These traveling, small-scale retailers were expected to be anywhere and anytime people wanted them to be, from the village markets opening every five days to the women’s quarter of houses. Any space, depending on whether people lived there and needed something from them, was as good as any market for the bubosang.
In celebrating 2010 the Year of Chungnam Folk Culture, the museum is presenting a special exhibition on the history and everyday lives of the bubosang. Due to its central location and the development of roads, the South Chungcheong region was traditionally a center for trade and commerce. Today, it is now where the traces left by the bubosang, once the key retailers who had the economy flowing, are most evident.
By allowing visitors to step into the lives of these peddler merchants, learn about their organizations and economic roles, we hope to enable a better understanding of South Chungcheong Province’s traditional market culture.