photography seoul museum of art opens with dynamic, twisting facade

a sculptural new presence in seoul

The Photography Seoul Museum of Art introduces a new cultural presence to Dobong-gu, a district of northeastern Seoul that, is gradually seeing the introduction of contemporary landmarks — just next door is the newly completed Robot and AI Museum by Turkish studio Melike Altinisik Architects (MAA).

Designed in collaboration by Austrian firm Jadric Architektur and Korean studio 1990uao Architects, the newly completed museum spans six levels — four above ground, two below — totaling 7,048 square meters. With its broad concrete surfaces and filtered light, the building feels anchored in its setting while gesturing toward the evolving identity of Korean photography.

Its architectural frame balances introspection with openness. The architects have treated the museum like a vessel for light, emphasizing clean circulation, restrained materiality, and soft transitions between levels. Interior zones are punctuated by voids that offer moments of pause and reorientation. Light wells and controlled apertures shift with the time of day, shaping the atmosphere in which visitors encounter the museum’s growing collection. See designboom’s previous coverage here!

images by Yoon Joonhwan, courtesy PhotoSeMA. © PhotoSeMA

two inaugural exhibitions

The Photography Seoul Museum of Art by Jadric Architektur and 1990uao Architects opens as Korea’s first public institution dedicated solely to the photographic medium. Operated as a branch of the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), the project expands SeMA’s cultural reach while setting out a distinct curatorial mission. The inaugural exhibitions — The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography and Storage Story — mark the museum’s public debut, both as an architecture and as an archive.

In The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography, the museum presents seminal works by Jung Haechang, Lim Suk Je, Lee Hyungrok, Cho Hyundu, and Park Youngsook. The exhibition draws from a collection that now includes over 20,000 works and archival materials dating from the 1920s to 1990s. These early pieces are installed with a sense of spatial reverence, highlighting the relationship between image and context while allowing room for the visitor’s own interpretation of the medium’s historical shifts.

In contrast, Storage Story engages the new museum as both subject and site. The six artists featured — Dongsin Seo, Won Seoung Won, Jihyun Jung, Joo Yongseong, Melmel Chung, and Oh Jooyoung — use photography to reflect on the institution’s formation. Their works explore the idea of a museum as a living organism: one shaped by systems of classification, memory, and projection. The interplay between art and architecture in this context becomes particularly resonant, with each piece responding directly to the building’s spatial language.

the Photography Seoul Museum of Art brings a cultural landmark to Dobong-gu, Seoul

architecture shaped by light and lens

The Photography Seoul Museum of Art is designed with close attention to the conditions that shape photographic experience. Galleries are proportioned to accommodate shifting media, from silver gelatin prints to video-based installations, while archival spaces are hidden yet essential. This provided the infrastructure for long-term research and preservation. The result is an architecture that feels both deliberate and flexible, suited to the museum’s dual identity as a site of display and a working archive.

The project sets an ambitious institutional vision. Beyond its exhibitions, the museum is positioned to encourage dialogue between artists, curators, and researchers. Programming includes regular talks, workshops, and events extending through the summer season, reinforcing its role as a dynamic cultural anchor for the region. Through sustained engagement with the medium’s history and future, the museum hopes to widen the public’s understanding of photographic art.

While deeply grounded in the context of Korean photography, the museum’s aspirations are outward-looking. As General Director Choi Eunju notes, the project complements SeMA’s other satellite institutions and aims to position Seoul as a critical node in Asia’s contemporary photography scene.

Jadric Architektur and 1990uao Architects design a light-filled museum for photography

the museum’s interiors are shaped by natural light and spatial stillness

installation views, Storage Story, Photography Seoul Museum of Art, May 29th — October 12th, 2025. photos by Image Zoom, courtesy SeMA

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installation views, The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography, Photography Seoul Museum of Art, May 29th -- October 12th, 2025. photos by Youngdon Jung, courtesy SeMA