It’s the season that comes every year, but the heat is something you’ll never get used to. Summer is a season that comes every year, but you can’t help but say “hot”. From exhibitions to pool parties, here are some places where you can escape the heat and enjoy a cool July.
1. Kami-Udon
The cold side of the weather. The overwhelmingly popular menu in this area is Pyongyang cold noodles or soybean noodles, but cold udon has its own charm, with its distinctive tangy flavor and chewy noodles that are fun to chew. Kami Udon, a Hongdae staple, always has a line of people waiting to enter in front of the stone wall opposite. Here are four other cold udon restaurants to try alongside Kami-udon.
📍23, Hongik-ro 2-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
2. Mondrian Seoul Outdoor Pool
There’s nothing quite like a dip in the ocean to cool off, but if that’s not an option, there are plenty of hotel pools within easy reach in Seoul. The outdoor pool at Mondrian Hotel in Itaewon looks like a trip to Europe. Other hotels with outdoor pools include Mapo Hotel Naru and Novotel Ambassador in Dongdaemun.
📍23, Jangmun-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
3. Period Clothing
In my job of introducing exhibitions and cultural spaces every month, I realize that there are many places and people who appreciate art. The word “cosmopolitan” no longer sounds like a cliché when it comes to Seoul. While I appreciate invited exhibitions by international artists, I’m even more excited to see exhibitions made by Seoulites in Seoul. ‘Period Costume’ at the Ilmin Museum of Art in Gwanghwamun introduces the work and philosophy of three Korean fashion brands, Ji Yong Kim, Post Archive Faction (Faf), and Hye Inseo. The exhibition explores the intersection of two incomplete arts, fashion and art, and intertwines them in the context of the era in which they were born.
📍 Ilmin Museum of Art, 152 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
🗓️ ~ July 20 (Sun)
4. From Monet to Warhol
It doesn’t seem quite natural to have Pop Art master Andy Warhol right next to Impressionist master Monet. This juxtaposition makes you wonder about the curation of the exhibition. Monet to Warhol, on view at the Sejong Center for the Arts, is a special exhibition showcasing the collection of a Johannesburg, South Africa gallery. From the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century to 20th century paintings, it is a project that allows you to look at the history and flow of Western art over 400 years at once.
📍 Sejong Center for the Arts, 175 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
🗓️ ~ August 31 (Sun)
5. Anthony McCall Exhibition
Futura opened last fall and successfully completed its opening exhibition, Repik Anadol’s solo exhibition. The second exhibition at Futura Seoul is ‘Anthony McCall: Works 1972-2020’. This is the first solo exhibition in Asia of McCall’s exploration of light, time, space, and interaction with the viewer, and features works from his earliest to his most recent works, including his signature work Solid Light.
📍 Futura Seoul, 61 Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
🗓️ ~ September 6 (Sun)
6. Yoshigo: The Unfinished Journey
Yoshigo, who was loved for his blue Mediterranean landscapes in the summer of 2021, returns to Korea with more than 300 new works. ‘Yoshigo: An Unfinished Journey’ captures his time in Spain, the United States, Japan, and Korea, where he was born and raised. The exhibition will be held at GroundCiso Central, Seoul Station.
📍 GroundCiso Central,14 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
🗓️ – August 31 (Sun)
7. Jonathan Bertin Photography Exhibition
GroundCiso East, GroundCiso’s new space in Gu, is hosting the inaugural Jonathan Bertin Photography Exhibition. Jonathan Bertin, a photographer from Normandy, France, pays tribute to Impressionist painting through photography. He is interested in the fluidity of the image, just as the Impressionists discovered the colors that change with the light. Groundsiso East is also hosting an exhibition of Alex Quito’s photographs, which captureeveryday and surreal moments. Don’t miss it, as Fever offers additional discounts on combined tickets for both exhibitions.
📍 Groundsiso East,402 Achasan-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
🗓️ ~ September 28 (Sun)
8. Seoul Museum of Photographic Arts
On May 29, the Seoul Museum of Photographic Arts, the first photography museum in Korea, opened its doors. The opening special exhibition, “Storage Stories,” explores the historical, cultural, and geographical context of Changdong, where the museum is located, through the medium of photography. Another opening special exhibition , “Radiance: Moments of Beginnings,” showcases the work of five 20th-century artists – Jung Chang Chung, Lim Seokje, Lee Hyungrok, Cho Hyundu, and Park Youngsook – who reimagined photography as an art form at different times since the inception of Korean photography in the 1880s. The spatial organization, reminiscent of a darkroom, allows the viewer to focus solely on the moment captured in the photographs.
📍 68, Madlo 13-gil, Dobong-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
⏰ Weekdays 10:00 – 20:00, Weekends 10:00 – 19:00, Closed Mondays
🎟️ Free admission
9. Tsutaya Bookstore Pop-up
Japan’s Tsutaya Bookstore has come to Seoul. In addition to books and miscellaneous goods curated by Tsutaya Bookstore, you can find exhibitions by Japanese artists such as Hiroshi Nagai in an art garden that recreates the garden of Ginza’s Tsutaya Bookstore.
📍 Nine Wonnam,91 Hannam-daero, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (Naver map)
🗓️ through Sunday, July 13