Centre Pompidou Hanwha in Seoul (Centre Pompidou Hanwha) Centre Pompidou Hanwha opened its doors Thursday amid controversy over allegations of art-washing, with domestic and international civic groups and arts organizations criticizing Hanwha Group's partnership with the Paris-based Centre Pompidou.The criticism gained momentum after protesters staged a demonstration during the museum's press opening on May 19, raising questions about the defense conglomerate's growing involvement in the cultural sector through the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, established in 2007.The criticism stems in part from Hanwha Group's ties with Israeli defense companies, including partnerships established in 2021 with Elbit Systems and Elta Systems.The newly opened museum marks the foundation's first major art initiative and its most significant venture into the visual arts to date. Members of the Artists' Solidarity Against Censorship hold a banner reading, "Stop genocide art-washing now," during a protest at Centre Pompidou Hanwha ahead of a press briefing on May 18. (Courtesy of Artists' Solidarity Against Censorship) The opening of the Seoul branch of one of the world's leading modern and contemporary art museums has also sparked heated debate on social media, with some arguing that the project represents an example of corporate art-washing."Faced with a system in which it is difficult to challenge Korean companies that cooperate with Israeli firms or refuse their funding, I feel a sense of helplessness. What if the substantial fees paid for this partnership had instead been used to support outstanding artists and artworks at home and abroad?" one Instagram user wrote.Others dismissed the criticism as unfounded and view the new museum as a legitimate cultural investment. "The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision" at Centre Pompidou Hanwha in Seoul (Centre Pompidou Hanwha) "The art washing argument is a stretch,” another social media user wrote. "If Centre Pompidou Hanwha is art washing, Hanwha's fireworks festival is ‘event-washing,’ and are the Hanwha Eagles a form of ‘baseball-washing’? It seems like the world is growing more and more divided.”More than 100 French artists signed an open letter calling for a boycott of Centre Pompidou Hanwha, saying the Seoul museum is "seen as an art-washing operation masking profits derived from armed conflicts.""Because this constitutes a moral compromise of cultural institutions, contributing to the normalization of wartime violence, we call for the termination of this partnership and urge artists and cultural workers to mobilize against it publicly," the letter states.The foundation rejected claims — responding to the criticism — saying it operates as a "nonprofit organization" dedicated to supporting artists and promoting international cultural exchange."Going forward, we will continue to engage with a wide range of perspectives from the art community and focus on fulfilling our core mission of making a sustainable cultural contribution," the foundation said in a statement provided to The Korea Herald.The museum has drawn considerable attention for its inaugural exhibition, "The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision," which explores the emergence of Cubism in Paris and its lasting influence on modern and contemporary art through 91 works from Centre Pompidou's collection.The admission fee is set at 28,000 won for adults, the highest charged by art museums in Korea.