Kansong Art Museum, South Korea’s oldest private museum, opened its doors for the first time since 2014 on Saturday. The current show is the last chance to view an exhibition at the historic venue before restoration on the 85-year-old main building begins. The museum had remained closed since the fall of 2014 as it became difficult to accommodate visitors in the aging facility. From 1972 to 2014, the museum held exhibitions twice a year, each highly anticipated exhibition drawing lar

Arts & Design April 17, 2022

The following is part of a series that explores international galleries that have opened a location in Seoul, as a new art hub in Asia. --Ed. Tang Contemporary Art started engaging with South Korea five years ago, after joining the annual Art Busan. One of Asia’s major art galleries, the Beijing-based institution solidified ties with the fast-rising art market last year, presenting works both at Kiaf SEOUL and Art Busan. “Art fairs in South Korea in the past five years got us t

Arts & Design April 11, 2022

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea is recruiting foreigners living in South Korea to collaborate with the museum in promoting Korean art and the national museum globally, as the number of overseas visitors have plummeted during the pandemic. Under the “#helloMMCA” program, the museum will pick 10 foreign residents in Korea to work for its campaign from May 2 to July 31. The influencers will post a variety of contents about the museum and exhibitions on their

Culture April 8, 2022

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will build its fifth venue in Daejeon and cement ties with internationally renowned museums to promote Korean art as part of its new plan to reach local and international audiences. The museum’s venue in Daejeon -- the country’s fifth-largest city -- will open in early 2026, occupying the building of the former South Chungcheong provincial government office. Renovation of the modernist building first built in 1932 will sta

Arts & Design April 6, 2022

The southern port city of Busan expects to draw art lovers from home and abroad with two major art events that will kick off in May and September -- Art Busan and Busan Biennale -- as the government eases restrictions against the pandemic. Art Busan, scheduled to open on May 12 for VVIPs and run from May 13 to 15 for the general public, will be joined by 134 galleries from 21 countries at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center. The number of international galleries from abroad jumped to 3

Arts & Design April 5, 2022

The following is part of a series that explores international galleries that have opened in Seoul, a new art hub in Asia. --Ed. Thaddaeus Ropac Seoul opened in October 2021 at the heart of Hannam-dong as Korea and the world were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move may have seemed foolhardy, but Thaddaeus Ropac, the Austrian gallerist who has run the gallery for almost 40 years, did not hesitate to expand its presence in Asian market. “Though the pandemic was unprecedented in

Arts & Design April 4, 2022

Kansong Art Museum -- South Korea’s first private museum and home to some 5,000 artifacts including 10 state-designated national treasures -- will open its doors for the first time in seven years on April 16. A new exhibition at Bohwagak, the museum’s original building, coincides with the recent completion of a new storage facility on the museum grounds. The exhibition will showcase 44 artifacts from the museum’s collection at Bohwagak, which was listed as a state-registere

Arts & Design April 3, 2022

The Korean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in April will be held under the theme of “Gyre,” as a metaphor for the confusion that the world goes through with seven installations created by artist Kim Yun-chul. “The word ‘Gyre’ connotes multiple meanings. The Korean Pavilion will become a massive work itself, organically combined with Kim’s works. We will tear off the pavilion ceiling, so that the space mingles with nature with smell and natural light,&r

Arts & Design March 30, 2022

Leeum Museum of Art opened its first exhibitions of the year, “Artspectrum2022” and “Ian Cheng: Worlding,” featuring young artists at home and abroad who are pushing the boundary of conventional art genres. A total of eight emerging Korean artists are featured at “Artspectrum2022,” the seventh edition of the museum’s biannual exhibition that aims to introduce emerging young Korean artists. A panel of four curators from the museum, four critics and out

Arts & Design March 29, 2022

Artist Heo Wook is happiest when he draws lines to connect edges in his works. He has pursued an artistic concept of his own, which he calls “Cheomcheom,” that has evolved throughout his artistic career. After graduating from Beaux-Arts de Paris with degrees in drawing, painting, architecture and multimedia, Heo has explored how relationships are created among objects or people. The concept “Cheomcheom” literally means to constantly lay one thing upon another in Korea

Arts & Design March 27, 2022

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced that he would begin his term on May 10 as president of the Republic of Korea at the Ministry of National Defense compound in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. Cheong Wa Dae -- which has been the presidential office for 70 years, since South Korea’s inaugural President Syngman Rhee -- is to open to the public on the same day. 　 Putting an end to the legacy of the “imperial presidency” and to better communicate with people are reasons offered i

Culture March 26, 2022

The site of Cheong Wa Dae dates back to Goryeo (918-1392) when the kingdom had royal palace halls at the site. During the Joseon era (1392-1910), the site was considered a sacred place. Located right outside Sihwamun, Gyeongbokgung’s north gate, it was a place where royal retainers pledged their loyalty to the king. According to annals from the reign of King Sukjong, the place was considered so sacred that no king dared to occupy the place despite its beautiful scenery. The land was la

Culture March 26, 2022

The following is part of a series that explores international galleries that have opened in Seoul, a new art hub in Asia. --Ed. Lehmann Maupin is one of the pioneers exploring the potential of the Korean art market from a global perspective. The 26-year-old gallery based in New York opened its Seoul venue in 2017 in Samcheong-dong in central Seoul, a cozy neighborhood located right next to Gyeongbokgung. The gallery’s relationship with Korea dates back more than two decades when it sta

Arts & Design March 22, 2022

The Galleries Art Fair 2022 closed Sunday with a record number of visitors and sales, continuing the ongoing art fever in South Korea. Some 143 galleries participated in the country’s oldest art fair, making it the largest in its history. The five-day art fair kicked off Wednesday at Seoul Trade Exhibition Convention in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. It attracted some 5,300 visitors and clinched 17.7 billion won ($14.5 million) in sales, more than twice last year’s sales figure of 7.

Arts & Design March 22, 2022

A national treasure that failed to find a new owner after the Kangsong Art Museum put it up for auction in January has been bought by a cryptocurrency-based decentralized autonomous organization. Heritage DAO purchased National Treasure No.73, Portable Shrine of Gilt-Bronze Buddha Triad, and permanently entrusted the Buddhist relic to the museum for physical exhibitions, the museum announced Wednesday. “We were surprised by the offer to buy the national treasure from the cryptocurrency-

Arts & Design March 16, 2022