Opened on June 10, 1994, the Busan Marine Natural History Museum is the first and largest museum of its kind in Korea. The museum features some 25,000 marine specimens from over 100 countries around the world, including rare living species and those native to Korea. The museum opened a second exhibition hall in April 2003, and launched the Busan Fishing Village Folk Museum on February 23, 2007.
Marine life on display in the museum
The major exhibits of Busan Marine Natural History Musem include the largest existing man-eating clam, arapaima (the largest living freshwater fish), oarfish (a legendary fish that is said to live half of the month in the mountains and the rest in the sea), whale fish (the largest living of the fish species), jumbo squid (the largest of sthe quid species), a blade bone fossil of a dinosaur, piranha (an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers), sturgeon (toothless bony fish species, whose eggs are often eaten as caviar), water monitor (the second largest species of lizards), alligator snapping turtle (giant turtle with strong teeth and a violent temper), spur-thighed tortoise (the third largest turtle in the world) and more!