Seoul, a city gaining attention for its art.
The UK’s global magazine Time Out has even dubbed 2026 “Seoul’s Year of Art.”
This is because, going beyond mere exhibitions, new art museums set to reshape Seoul’s landscape are opening simultaneously this year.
So, which museums should we pay particular attention to this year?
Seoul Museum of Art
As time passes, art continues to take on new forms.
The Seo Seoul Museum of Art, which opened on March 12, was created as a space dedicated to new media art, keeping pace with this evolving trend in the art world.
Even its exterior resembles a work of art. The sturdy silver façade is rippled like gracefully undulating waves, revealing different appearances as light and time change.
Currently, the special opening exhibitions *Breath* and *Our Time Begins Here*, as well as SeMA Project V *Yalru*, are on view.
All exhibitions are free to the public.
Pompidou Center Hanwha Seoul
It is one of the most anticipated projects in the art world this year.
The Pompidou Center Hanwha, a large-scale art museum spanning 3,000 square meters, is set to open this June.
Scheduled to open in the former aquarium space of the 63 Building in Yeouido, the museum plans to present exhibitions centered on modern and contemporary collections twice a year for the next four years.
Architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who oversaw the remodeling of France’s iconic Louvre and Orsay museums and designed Incheon International Airport—Korea’s first point of contact with the world—has been commissioned to design this museum. There are high expectations for Wilmotte’s signature sophisticated and minimalist design.
Park Seo-bo Museum
The Park Seo-bo Museum, honoring the master of Korean monochrome painting and a founder of Korean art, Park Seo-bo, is set to open.
The museum will be established based on approximately 3,000 works donated to the Park Seo-bo Foundation by the artist, who passed away in 2023.
The center is scheduled to open in August in Yeonhi-dong, Seoul.
It is reported that works by other young artists and installation artists will also be exhibited in the spacious venue, which spans five floors—two underground and three above ground.
Architect Choi Moon-kyu, who designed Samji-gil and the Hyundai Card Music Library, is in charge of the design for this project.
