Korea has unveiled its first national contemporary history museum, which focuses on the end of the 19th century when the nation opened its ports to the outside world for the first time to the present day.

Located in Seoul, South Korea, the building, which was previously the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, was renovated into the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History.

The museum presents more than 1,500 relics benchmarking Korean history in the arenas of politics, economy, society, and culture.

Spanning 69,373sq ft (6,445sq m), the eight-storey building is equipped with six exhibit halls, storage, seminar rooms, a cafeteria, a souvenir store, and a rooftop garden.

The permanent exhibition consists of four themed sections, 'Dawn of the Nation' from 1876 to 1945, 'Establishing a basis' from 1945 to 1960, 'National development' from 1961 to 1987, and 'Modernization' from 1988 to today.

More than 32,000sq ft (3,000sq m) of space spread across three floors has been devoted to the history of the 'Korean Miracle' - which saw the country transform itself from one of the poorest to one of the most developed countries in the world in just 60 years.

The exhibits, set to utilize the latest high-tech information and cultural technologies, to display historical relics such as a vast collection of everyday items, the Declaration of Independence, keepsakes left by war dead, and Korea's first exported car - the Pony.

On the first floor, a video that captures Korea's significant historic political, economic, societal, and cultural moments interacts with visitors who are given an opportunity to extend their knowledge of the nation.

The museum has acquired over 40,000 such items through donations and direct purchases since 2010.