Daegu Wooson Gallery opened in Seoul last year
The house used as the embassy’s residence was renovated and put on display… “A place close to the city center with many poor artists.”
Jason Ham Gallery opens new branch nearby
Seo Seok-Rhine Foundation Art Museum is also being prepared.
When you think of art, there are neighborhoods that come to mind. Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, where large domestic galleries are gathered; Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, and Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, where many foreign galleries are located. Recently, the number of art museums and galleries has increased in Seongbuk-dong, Seongbuk-gu, known as a traditional luxury residential area, attracting the attention of art lovers.
Last December, Wooson Gallery, a famous gallery in Daegu, opened a Seoul exhibition hall in Seongbuk-dong, while Jason Ham Gallery, which was located in Seongbuk-dong in 2017, opened a new building last year. In addition, the Seo Seok Museum of Art and the Rhine Cultural Foundation Art Museum are also preparing to open in Seongbuk-dong. What charms has the art world fallen for in Seongbuk-dong?
● Large single-family home, exhibition hall
Gallerists focused on luxury houses in Seongbuk-dong as an ‘exhibition space.’ To establish a home in downtown Seoul, you must either build a new building or enter an existing commercial building. However, in Seongbuk-dong, a large single-family home can be used as a nice exhibition space.
Wooson Gallery’s Seoul branch, which opened in December last year, underwent a one-year remodeling of a 50-year-old red brick building. This building was previously used as the residence of the Venezuelan Embassy in Korea. Now, the first and second floors are an exhibition space, and the first basement and third floors are a space for gallery customers. Lee Eun-joo, director of Wooson Gallery, said, “Compared to Samcheong-dong, where galleries are concentrated, or busy Gangnam, Seongbuk-dong’s strength is its calm atmosphere.”
Jason Ham Gallery, located in Seongbuk-dong in 2017, also expanded its gallery to a building next to the existing exhibition hall last year. Originally, they were going to demolish the building next door and build a new one, but after seeing the unique shape of this building, Swiss contemporary artist Urs Fischer said, “I want to install my work here,” and is now using it while maintaining its original form. The building, which was built by the owner himself, has a round stone wall on the first floor and glass windows on the second floor. Fisher painted this entire building white and held a solo exhibition, ‘Feeling.’
The fact that Seongbuk-dong is a traditional wealthy village is also a factor that attracts galleries. Ham Yun-cheol, CEO of Jason Ham, said, “Ever since I was young, when I watched dramas, I had a fantasy about Seongbuk-dong because I saw a scene where a rich family would answer the phone saying, ‘This is Seongbuk-dong.’ There was an expectation that the residents of this area would also be potential customers.” .
● Nature and cultural heritage become art museums
“Why are you asking me to come to the inconvenient Seongbuk-dong? The reason is simple. Not far from the city center, drinking well water rather than tap water, flowers blooming, forests, autumn leaves, and birds chirping. “The moonlight of the Daldo Mountain Gorge is different.”
This is a writing left by Kim Hwan-ki (1913-1974), who lived in Seongbuk-dong. In fact, many artists, including Kim Hwan-ki, lived in Seongbuk-gu. Kim Bora, director of the Seongbuk Museum of Art, said, “Unlike in the city, nature is alive, and in the past, because it was not Seoul, housing prices were low, so even poor artists used it as a studio.”
Seongbuk Museum of Art, which opened in 2009, is the first art museum established by an autonomous district in Korea. In 1978, the ‘Seongbuk Scholarship Society’, created by artists including Seo Seok and Kim Kichang, established a close relationship with the local government, leading to the establishment of an art museum.
This background also became an important reason why Seongbuk-dong received attention. In 2028, the ‘Seo Se-ok Art Museum’ will open next to ‘Musongjae’, the hanok where Seo Se-ok lived for over 50 years. The site of the museum is where the studio of Seo Se-ok’s son, Seo Do-ho, was located. Research and exhibitions will also be conducted based on 3,342 works, including works donated by Seo Se-ok’s bereaved family to the Seongbuk Museum of Art in 2021. Architect Seo Eul-ho, Seo Se-ok’s second son, was in charge of designing the museum.
The Rhine Foundation for Arts and Culture is also preparing a modern art museum measuring approximately 10,000 square meters in Seongbuk-dong, with the goal of opening in 2026. As a preliminary program for the museum, the foundation is holding ‘When All Conditions Are Harmonious’ at ‘Project Space Line’, a non-profit exhibition space in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu. Landscape designer Park So-hee and artist Park Ki-won were invited to this exhibition, and nature will also be an important element at the Seongbuk-dong Art Museum. Director Ko Won-seok said, “It will be a contemporary art museum with a large garden, which is rare in downtown Seoul.”
Reporter Kim Min [email protected]
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