Seoul’s contemporary art world can feel overwhelming. The city is home to some three dozen art museums, more than 100 commercial galleries, and an ever-changing profusion of non-profit and artist-run spaces, offering art lovers an abundance of exhibitions to take in — not just during Frieze Week that occurs every September, but all year round.
The most extensively developed arts district in Seoul can be found in and around the Samcheong-dong neighbourhood, where the city’s highest density of traditional hanok architecture is concentrated between two sprawling palace complexes: Gyeongbokgung to the west and Changdeokgung to the east. Home to aristocrats and well-heeled elites during the Joseon Dynasty, this area has for centuries been the capital’s cultural hub. Today it is anchored by the flagship branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), which in addition to temporary exhibitions and permanent-collection shows also hosts the annual Korea Artist Prize, one of the year’s most anticipated showcases of homegrown talent.
Adjacent to MMCA is the venerable Art Sonje Center, a private institution which since 1995 has helped launch the careers of Korean art-world royalty such as Haegue Yang and Do Ho Suh. The surrounding environs of Samcheong-dong are filled with commercial galleries that offer rotating exhibitions of contemporary artists. The oldest of these is Gallery Hyundai, founded in 1970 when the contemporary art market in Korea was virtually non-existent, followed 12 years later by Kukje Gallery. Located just 400 metres apart (with MMCA in the middle), both of these must-see galleries regularly present some of the best exhibitions the city has to offer.
