Slew of new, revamped museums to open across Korea in 2025

The Photography Seoul Museum of Art, set to open in May in the city's Dobong District / Courtesy of SeMA First public photography museum slated for launch in May By Park Han-sol From the country’s first public photography museum to a “floating” museum on an island, a wave of new and revamped art institutions is slated to open across Korea this year. The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) is expanding its cultural footprint with the launch of two new venues : the Photography Seoul Museum of Art, opening in May in the city’s Dobong District, and the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art, set to debut later in the year in Geumcheon District. The Photography Seoul Museum of Art will be Korea’s first public institution dedicated solely to the art and history of photography, with a collection of over 20,000 works and archival materials, while the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art will place its curatorial focus on media art.

Once inaugurated, these two venues will join SeMA’s network of six other museums and art-centered spaces throughout the capital. A rendering of the Floating Museum on Anjwa Island in South Jeolla Province's Sinan County, designed by Yukinori Yanagi / Courtesy of YANAGI + ART BASE South Jeolla Province’s Sinan County, located in the southwest and made up of 1,025 islets, is pressing forward with its ambitious 144 billion won ($99.8 million) art initiative, aiming to establish a cultural museum or landmark on every major island.



The project seeks to transform the district, which has a shrinking population of 38,000, into a vibrant tourist destination. This year will see the scheduled opening of the Floating Museum on Anjwa Island, designed by Japanese postwar artist Yukinori Yanagi. Known for his celebrated Inujima Art Project, which revitalized the small Japanese island once driven by copper smelting and quarrying in Okayama Prefecture, Yanagi now brings his creative vision to Korea’s shores.

The Sorol Art Museum in Gangneung, Gangwon Province / Courtesy of Sorol Art Museum The Sorol Art Museum in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, which originally opened in February 2024, is set to welcome visitors in April under its rebranded name, Gangneung Museum of Art Sorol (tentative English title). Designed by the New York-based architectural firm Meier Partners, the institution previously drew attention for hosting exhibitions featuring international art icons Lucio Fontana and Agnes Martin. Its rebranding follows a transition in management from the Korean Research Institute of Contemporary Art to the Gangneung City government.

Under the new leadership, the museum has announced its 2025 exhibition lineup, including solo shows of Korean abstractionist Kim Whanki and American painter Katherine Bernhardt. A rendering of the Park Seo-bo Museum Seoul, scheduled to be erected in Seoul's Yeonhui-dong / Captured from Park Seo-bo Foundation's Instagram Project delays Some projects, however, are facing setbacks. The construction of a museum in tribute to the late “dansaekhwa” (monochrome painting) master Park Seo-bo (1931-2023) has been marked by twists and turns.

Originally slated for completion in the summer of 2024, the three-story Park Seo-bo Art Museum on Jeju Island has been put on hold. Park Seung-ho, the artist’s son and chair of the Park Seo-bo Foundation, shared on Instagram that construction has been suspended due to soaring building material costs and a sharp decline in tourism on the island. In the meantime, the nonprofit foundation is moving forward with the Park Seo-bo Museum Seoul, a smaller venue located next to Gizi in Seoul’s Yeonhui-dong — the site of the late painter’s studio-cum-residence.

“The museum in Seoul will be the first dedicated to my father and is expected to be completed by year-end,” the younger Park wrote. A rendering of the interior of the Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul / Courtesy of Hanwha Group The opening of Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul , the much-anticipated satellite branch of the iconic Parisian landmark, may also encounter delays. The museum, located within 63 Square — more commonly known as the 63 Building — was initially scheduled to open in October 2025, with exhibitions showcasing the Pompidou’s collection, according to the Hanwha Foundation of Culture.

However, construction only commenced at the end of last year, potentially pushing back the project’s timeline..