Leeum Museum of Art

On a hillside in Hannam-dong, Leeum Museum of Art is a private museum run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture that shows national-treasure-level Korean antiquities alongside Korean and international contemporary art. Its buildings were designed by three architects, Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas, and as of October 2026 the traditional art collection display is free, which makes it an easy addition to a walk around Itaewon and Hannam-dong.

From a private collection to a museum

Leeum grew out of the collection of Lee Byung-chul, founder of the Samsung Group. After the Samsung Foundation of Culture was set up in 1965 to preserve and share cultural heritage, the foundation built a new home in Hannam-dong and opened Leeum in 2004. The name joins the founder's family name, Lee, with "-um", the ending of the word museum. In 2021 the museum reopened after a renovation of its lobby and visitor spaces and introduced a new, animated logo.

Three architects, three buildings

• M1 (traditional art): designed by Mario Botta in terracotta brick, a material meant to evoke earth and fire and the beauty of Korean ceramics.
• M2 (modern and contemporary art): Jean Nouvel used corroded stainless steel and glass to express the cutting edge of contemporary art. From the basement galleries you look out on a sunken garden and a gabion wall built from bedrock split during construction and stacked in steel cages.
• Child Education and Culture Center: Rem Koolhaas's "Black Box" in black concrete, which seems to float in mid-air.

It is rare for three such distinctive architects to work on one museum, and many visitors come for the buildings alone.

What to see

The traditional collection includes many National Treasures and Treasures. A few pieces worth knowing about:

• Gilt-bronze Buddha Triad with "Sinmyo" inscription (National Treasure): a Three Kingdoms-period statue, 15.5 cm tall, unearthed in Goksan, Hwanghae Province, in 1930. The main Buddha and two attendant bodhisattvas share one large mandorla, and it is the largest surviving statue of this type.
• White porcelain jar with plum and bamboo design in underglaze blue (National Treasure): a 41 cm blue-and-white jar from the 15th century, early Joseon, with plum branches and bamboo painted in fine detail over the whole body.
• Samgongbulhwando by Kim Hong-do (Treasure): an eight-panel screen painted in 1801, when the artist was 57. Its title says that the joys of country life are not worth trading even for the highest state office, and it shows the idea through a riverside mansion, farmers at work and anglers.

Displays rotate, so if you want to see a particular work, check the exhibition information before your visit.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, ticket sales close at 17:30. Closed on Mondays, 1 January and on the day of Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok.
• Admission: the traditional art display is free; special exhibitions are paid. On the last Wednesday of each month ("Culture Day") tickets are 50% off.
• Booking: walk-in tickets are available, but you may have to wait when it is busy. Online booking opens 14 days ahead, up to four tickets per person.
• Digital guide: a free handheld device plays commentary when you approach a work, in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese; you leave ID such as a passport as a deposit. Docent tours are not offered at present.
• Photos and bags: non-flash photography is allowed except for works marked "no photography". Bags the size of a backpack or larger must go in the lockers.
• Getting there: from Hangangjin Station (Line 6), exit 1, walk about 100 m towards Itaewon, turn right into the first lane and climb the hill for about five minutes. Parking is very limited, so use public transport.
• Time needed: allow 1.5 hours for the permanent display and 2 to 3 hours with a special exhibition.