Leeum Museum of Art

If the National Museum of Korea is the country's public history, Leeum is its connoisseur's cabinet. Founded on the collection of Samsung's founding family and opened in 2004, the museum occupies a hillside campus in Hannam-dong designed by three of the most celebrated architects of their generation: Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas. The buildings are part of the experience. Museum 1, Botta's terracotta-brick drum, houses traditional Korean art, and its central rotunda and spiraling galleries are a deliberately reverent setting for some of the finest objects in the country: Goryeo celadons with inlaid cranes and clouds, Joseon white porcelain and blue-and-white wares, the robust buncheong stoneware that later inspired Japanese tea masters, Buddhist paintings and gilt-bronze sculpture, calligraphy and ink landscapes, metalwork and lacquer. A number of the pieces are designated national treasures, and the quality throughout is exceptional. Museum 2, Nouvel's building of rusted steel and glass, presents modern and contemporary art, with Korean masters of the twentieth century hung alongside major international artists, and a lower level and sunken garden designed for large installations. Koolhaas's black-concrete education and exhibition block anchors the entrance. Leeum reopened in 2021 after a long closure, with a refreshed presentation that leans into immersive, carefully lit displays, and its temporary exhibitions — major retrospectives of Korean and international contemporary artists — are among the most talked-about shows in Asia. The permanent traditional-art galleries of Museum 1 have been offered free, with tickets charged for the main temporary exhibitions; reserving online is the smart move for popular shows.

Leeum opens from 10am to 6pm and closes on Mondays, as well as on New Year's Day, Lunar New Year and Chuseok. Timed reservations through the museum's ticketing site are recommended and sometimes required for major exhibitions; on weekends the most popular shows can sell out. Plan on two hours: an hour for the traditional collection in Museum 1, which repays slow looking, and an hour for the contemporary galleries and the current special exhibition. The museum offers an audio guide, and its shop is a good place for design-minded souvenirs.

The neighborhood is half the appeal. Leeum sits at the top of Hannam-dong, Seoul's most fashionable district for galleries, flagship boutiques, concept stores and restaurants; the streets downhill are lined with commercial galleries, design shops and cafes, and Itaewon's international dining is a short walk west. A Hannam-dong afternoon that starts at Leeum and drifts through the galleries and boutiques below is one of the most stylish ways to see contemporary Seoul.

The nearest station is Hangangjin on Line 6, about five minutes' walk up the hill. The National Museum of Korea and the War Memorial of Korea are a short taxi ride away in Yongsan, so a serious museum-lover can make a full day of it. Leeum suits adults and older teenagers best; younger children will do better at the National Museum's Children's Museum, though the museum does run family education programs.