Korea’s First Public Photography Museum Opens in Seoul
Published May 28, 2025 08:05 PM
Kang In sig
The Photography Seoul Museum of Art (Photo SeMA), Korea’s first public museum focused only on photography, is now open to the public, the Seoul Museum of Art announced on Wednesday.
The museum is located in Changdong, a neighborhood in northern Seoul. The building has six floors, four exhibition halls, and a total area of 7,048 square meters. It took 10 years to complete.
The building was designed by Austrian architect Mladen Jadric and Korean architect Yoon Geun-ju from 1990uao Architects. The design is inspired by the pixels used in photography.
Seoul Museum of Art in central Seoul [Courtesy of SEOUL MUSEUM OF ART]
Seoul City began planning the museum in 2015 to highlight photography as both an art form and a historical record.
To celebrate its opening, Photo SeMA will launch two exhibitions on Thursday.
The first, titled "The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography," features early Korean photographers like Jung Hae-chang and Lim Seok-je. Their works show important moments in Korea’s photography history. These pieces are part of the museum’s collection of over 20,000 items gathered over the past 10 years.
The second exhibition, "Storage Story," looks at how the museum was built. It includes works by six contemporary artists, such as Won Sung-won, Seo Dong-shin, and Oh Ju-young, each showing their own view of the museum’s creation.
Both exhibitions will be on display until October 12.
Sayart / Kang In sig insig6622@naver.com
The Photography Seoul Museum of Art (Photo SeMA), Korea’s first public museum focused only on photography, is now open to the public, the Seoul Museum of Art announced on Wednesday.
The museum is located in Changdong, a neighborhood in northern Seoul. The building has six floors, four exhibition halls, and a total area of 7,048 square meters. It took 10 years to complete.
The building was designed by Austrian architect Mladen Jadric and Korean architect Yoon Geun-ju from 1990uao Architects. The design is inspired by the pixels used in photography.
Seoul Museum of Art in central Seoul [Courtesy of SEOUL MUSEUM OF ART]
Seoul City began planning the museum in 2015 to highlight photography as both an art form and a historical record.
To celebrate its opening, Photo SeMA will launch two exhibitions on Thursday.
The first, titled "The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography," features early Korean photographers like Jung Hae-chang and Lim Seok-je. Their works show important moments in Korea’s photography history. These pieces are part of the museum’s collection of over 20,000 items gathered over the past 10 years.
The second exhibition, "Storage Story," looks at how the museum was built. It includes works by six contemporary artists, such as Won Sung-won, Seo Dong-shin, and Oh Ju-young, each showing their own view of the museum’s creation.
Both exhibitions will be on display until October 12.
