Seoul Museum of Art expands to eight venues with new Seo-Seoul Museum

The Seoul Museum of Art will complete its eight-venue system this year with the opening of the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art in March, a new branch specializing in media art and technology-driven contemporary practices.

The launch follows the opening of the Photography Seoul Museum of Art last year, further expanding the city-run museum’s network.

“With the completion of its eight-venue system this year, SeMA enters a pivotal phase,” said Choi Eun-ju, director of the museum, on Tuesday.

“By leveraging each venue’s distinct identity, the museum aims to expand its social role and strengthen its position as Seoul’s leading contemporary art museum.”

As part of its focus on media and technology, the upcoming Seo-Seoul Museum of Art in Geumcheon-gu, southern Seoul, will present a solo exhibition by Kim Hee-cheon, an emerging Korean media artist whose work consistently offers a critical perspective on contemporary technological environments and culture.

With the addition of the new museum, SeMA’s network will comprise eight venues: the Seosomun Main Branch, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Seo-Seoul Museum of Art, Nam-Seoul Museum of Art, the SeMA Art Archives, the Photography Seoul Museum of Art, the Nanji Art Studio, and the House of Paik Nam June.

The city museum will run 39 exhibitions and 634 education programs across its eight venues this year. Programming will be guided by two closely linked curatorial agendas, “creation” and “technology,” exploring changing artistic practices and the technological conditions shaping contemporary art.

As a new project, SeMA will also launch the “Korean Modern Masters” series, beginning with a large-scale retrospective of Yoo Young-kuk, a pioneering postwar Korean abstract artist, at the Seosomun Main Branch in central Seoul. The exhibition marks the 110th anniversary of the artist’s birth.

Meanwhile, SeMA is moving forward with a major renovation of its Seosomun Main Branch, aiming for a reopening in 2030.

The project is currently undergoing a feasibility study, with preliminary public architecture reviews by the Seoul Metropolitan Government scheduled for the second half of this year.

The renovation includes a full remodeling of exhibition spaces and a two-level underground expansion beneath the plaza, designed to improve exhibition conditions and accessibility.