Get your culture fix in this artsy street in Seoul

A single road in Seoul is the proper place to map out a cultural itinerary in your subsequent trip to South Korea, as Samcheong-ro presents a panoramic view of the capital’s exploding artwork scene at no cost, or near free.

Only a 20-minute bus journey from Myeongdong’s procuring streets, Samcheong-ro is Seoul’s premier arts district. Notably, it provides a special view of South Korea’s cultural ascendancy past Okay-pop, Okay-beauty and Okay-drama.

Okay-art, too, goes international.

An ongoing exhibition of South Korean experimental artists at The Guggenheim in New York Metropolis is proof. Seoul, too, is shortly reworking itself into Asia’s subsequent artwork capital with its roster of worldwide arts occasions, together with the annual Frieze Seoul.

There are different artsy neighbourhoods in Seoul.

Hannam and Cheongdam are two with a excessive density of artwork galleries. However there’s something charming to me in regards to the Samcheong space and its lengthy historical past, bringing collectively outdated and new cultural gems.

It’s probably that the realm blossomed organically, following the transfer of Gallery Hyundai – South Korea’s longest-running modern artwork gallery – in 1975 from close by Insa-dong to Samcheong-ro.

The world, surrounded on either side by cultural landmarks, is good for an arts district. Gyeongbokgung Palace, in-built 1395 and residential to the royal household throughout the Joseon dynasty, sprawls throughout Samcheong-ro; whereas Bukchon Hanok Village wraps across the different facet, providing an intimate view of conventional Korean homes.

The Korean identify Samcheong refers back to the three purities discovered within the space: pure water, pure mountains and pure humanity.

It’s stated that poets used to collect within the space to wax lyrical. With gallery rooftops providing gorgeous mountain views immediately, the place continues to be worthy of poetry.

Modern artwork stalwarts reminiscent of Kukje Gallery, established in 1982, line the road. However there are additionally new children on the block from the worldwide stage, together with Berlin-based gallery Peres Tasks, which has simply opened its second location in Seoul.

Gallery founder Javier Peres says: “Our preliminary location inside The Shilla Lodge was considerably secluded and personal, and we aspired to increase to a bigger exhibition house in an much more central and dynamic neighbourhood.”

A vibrant neighbourhood, he says, is stimulating for his group and his artists. “We really feel immersed within the beating coronary heart of some of the lively scenes in modern artwork, which is extraordinarily inspiring.”

The world will get one other jewel in its already gem-studded crown when a brand new museum, internet hosting some 23,000 artworks by the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, opens in 2028.

Till then, here’s a curated record of seven artwork galleries and museums, and their adjoining cultural experiences.

Seven artwork galleries and museums to go to in Samcheong-ro

1. Gallery Hyundai

Don’t miss an opportunity to go to South Korea’s oldest modern artwork gallery, established in 1970.

Gallery Hyundai was the primary South Korean gallery to take part in an abroad truthful, and it stays the forerunner in bringing the nation’s artwork to worldwide audiences through its Seoul and New York outposts, the latter of which opened in 2019.

Earlier in 2023, Gallery Hyundai offered a mini solo retrospective of home-grown experimental artist Sung Neung-kyung, that includes 140 works. Sung is without doubt one of the artists whose works characteristic prominently in The Guggenheim’s latest exhibition on South Korean experimental artwork.

On present at Gallery Hyundai until Dec 3 is Reflection, a solo exhibition of South Korean artist Yoo Geun-taek – his third solo with the gallery, that includes mirrors, window scenes and water our bodies that mirror the on a regular basis world round him.

The place: 14 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
When: Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am to 6pm
Admission: Free
Data: galleryhyundai.com

2. Kukje Gallery

The non-public gallery was too crowded to enter on one in all Seoul Artwork Week’s nights in September.

Guests flooded the three buildings that held India-born British artist Anish Kapoor’s solo exhibition, and squeezed into the small hanok (conventional Korean home) to take a look at South Korean artist Haegue Yang’s unusual, hibernating items.

Established in 1982, Kukje Gallery is one other stalwart of South Korea’s modern artwork scene, boasting an eclectic worldwide line-up together with Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai, French-American artist Louise Bourgeois and American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

The gallery can be one of many champions of South Korean dansaekhwa (monochrome) work on the worldwide stage.

In unorthodox style for a non-public artwork gallery, the house includes a ground-floor cafe with a view of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and a fine-dining restaurant above. Make a reservation if you wish to attempt therapeutic yoga, zumba or meditation in its wellness studio.

The place: 54 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
When: Mondays to Saturdays, 10am to 6pm; Sundays and public holidays, 10am to 5pm
Admission: Free
Data: kukjegallery.com

3. Nationwide Museum of Trendy and Modern Artwork, Korea

With greater than 10,000 sq m of exhibition house throughout eight galleries, guests can simply spend an entire day at MMCA’s Seoul location.

The present that steals my coronary heart, nonetheless, is South Korean artist Jung Yeon-doo’s One Hundred Years Of Journey, which explores a century of Korean migration to the Mexican state of Yucatan. The present is on till Feb 25.

There are solely 5 works on present, however every is crafted to a scale past the human kind and successfully conveys the drama of diaspora and exile. A room that holds a 12m-high wall of blades sculpted out of sugar is a towering house to ponder the historical past of plantation and excessive labour situations.

For extra experimental fare, artist Kim Ku-lim’s fascinating and macabre works come collectively in a solo exhibition that runs until Feb 12. Additionally, Mission Hashtag – which reveals collaborative works past artwork – opens until April 7.

For these looking for wall texts, thought-provoking curation and a well-stocked artwork bookshop, MMCA Seoul – which opened in 2013 and is a relative newcomer to the road – is the proper spot.

The place: 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
When: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am to 9pm; and 10am to 6pm on all different days
Admission: 2,000 received (about S$2) an exhibition, however look out for free-admission late nights on Wednesdays and Saturdays
Data: mmca.go.kr/eng/

4. Hakgojae Gallery

Housed inside two distinctive areas on Samcheong-ro – a conventional hanok renovated in 1995 and a brand new brick-walled constructing constructed in 2008 – Hakgojae lives as much as its identify, which suggests “to evaluate the outdated to be taught the brand new”.

These excited about studying about rising South Korean artists can go to the solo exhibition of the younger artist Gwangsoo Park, which is on until Dec 9.

The place: 50 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu
When: Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am to 6pm
Admission: Free
Data: hakgojae.com

5. Nationwide Folks Museum of Korea

After taking within the clamour of the modern on one facet of Samcheong-ro, stroll to the other facet for a take a look at historical past and time-tested custom.

Positioned on the Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds, the museum has greater than 4,000 artefacts on show which embody the Korean lifestyle. You’ll want to go to the open-air exhibition house, the place the museum has reconstructed a conventional Nineteenth-century village.

A particular exhibition on the position of masks within the shared performing arts cultures of East Asia can be on present until March 3.

Admission is free with a ticket to Gyeongbokgung Palace (about $3 for adults; free for guests 18 and below), which can be the place The Nationwide Palace Museum of Korea is situated.

The place: 37 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu
When: Varied instances
Admission: Free with ticket to palace grounds
Data: nfm.go.kr/english/index.do

6. Peres Tasks

Worldwide galleries are catching on to the attraction of an arts district in Samcheong and Peres Tasks, which opened its four-storey house proper off the road in April, is one in all them.

The Berlin-headquartered gallery focuses on a various group of artists, a lot of whom are multidisciplinary or experimental of their work.

Within the few months that Peres Tasks has been in Samcheong, it has placed on solo reveals by American artist Kiyan Williams and Peruvian artist Paolo Salvador.

From Nov 30 to Jan 14, it should maintain the primary solo exhibition in Seoul of Berlin-based artist Manuel Solano, who misplaced his sight 10 years in the past because of HIV-related issues and has developed new methods to proceed making artwork.

The place: 37 Yulgok-ro 1-gil, Jongno-gu
When: 10am to 6pm day by day; closed on Mondays
Admission: Free
Data: peresprojects.com/exhibitions/location/3/

7. Artwork Sonje Centre

Not technically in Samcheong-ro however a three-minute stroll away, Artwork Sonje Centre’s three-storey constructing boasts a splendid view of the mountains from its rooftop backyard and a perspective of cutting-edge artwork practices in its exhibition halls.

Two new exhibitions run till Jan 21.

The Rain options Lebanese artist Tarek Atoui’s fusion of Korean conventional percussion and digital soundscapes in a present that guarantees to be a novel sensory expertise.

Hangdog, by South Korean artist and 2023 Kimsechoong Award for Younger Sculptors recipient Jihyun Jung, options sculptures made with city detritus and industrial stays.

Artwork Sonje Centre and the Singapore Artwork Museum are additionally co-organising a retrospective by Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen’s Time & The Tiger, which is ongoing at Tanjong Pagar Distripark. Artwork Sonje’s version of the present will run from July 4 to Aug 4 in 2024, and can characteristic a special curatorial presentation.

The place: 87 Yulgok-ro 3-gil, Jongno-gu
When: Tuesdays to Sundays, midday to 7pm
Admission: About $10
Data: artsonje.org/en/

Three tradition tricks to benefit from the Samcheong district

1. Discover standard and area of interest reads at Seoul Choice

Within the basement of a brick constructing at 6 Samcheong-ro is a no-frills English-language bookstore.

Korean literature is having its personal international renaissance – with remedy memoir I Need To Die However I Need To Eat Tteokbokki topping bestseller lists, and two different novels making the Worldwide Booker Prize longlist in 2022 – however I additionally spot area of interest titles right here which are arduous to search out elsewhere.

Literature lovers can take a look at a shelf of contemporary classics by South Korean authors reminiscent of Yi Sang, Yi Mun-yol and Kim Jae-young.

2. Wander the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village

A 15-minute stroll takes me to Bukchon Hanok Village, which is house to greater than 900 hanok (conventional Korean homes) and a pleasing neighbourhood for a leisurely stroll.

A few of these homes in Bukchon had been house to members of the elite courses throughout the Joseon interval (1392-1910).

You’ll want to go to Baek In-je Home, which is without doubt one of the largest hanok in Seoul. The previous residence of Baek In-je, a Korean patriot and physician who fought for independence throughout the Japanese colonial period, was in-built 1913 and provides a glimpse of hanok dwelling.

3. Take pleasure in occasions at Gwanghwamun Sq.

The 555m-long public sq. holds many surprises, as I found on repeat journeys between Samcheong-ro and my lodge in Myeongdong.

On one event, there was an outside library the place a whole bunch of readers lounged on bean luggage whereas dealing with the majestic facade of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

On one other stroll, I used to be lured by the guttural, hovering voice of music group nuMori’s lead singer throughout Seoul Music Week in September, and learnt that she was singing a fusion of heavy metallic and pansori (a mode of Korean musical storytelling).

In case you are visiting the realm within the weeks forward, take a look at Seoul Lantern Pageant, which is able to happen from Dec 19 to Jan 24.

The place to remain

Within the coronary heart of Myeongdong is The Plaza Seoul (119 Sogong-ro, nightly charges from $370), a super base on your artwork adventures. Other than its proximity to Samcheong-ro, it’s a two-minute stroll from Metropolis Corridor Station and provides a grand view of the Metropolis Corridor constructing. Go to str.sg/ixsE for extra info.

This text was first revealed in The Straits Occasions.