Leeum Museum of ArtHannam-dong, Yongsan-gu
Koo Jeong A: OUSSSMOS
Koo Jeong A's largest solo show in Korea to date, spanning three decades of work with phosphorescence, magnets, scent and skatepark architecture spread through the M2 galleries, lobby and grounds.
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About 50 crystals are tucked into the stone wall outside the museum, and you only see one if you stand in the right spot when the light catches it. Curator Kim Sung-won calls this Koo Jeong A's "right to miss", and the whole show works that way.
Some 35 works, from early-1990s pieces to new commissions, are spread through the lobby, the M2 and underground galleries, the traditional Korean art galleries and that wall, with no set route. In the round lobby you walk past Gravitta, a curved glow-in-the-dark skatepark that glows blue when the lights go off. R holds 1,001 drawings in 77 wooden boxes, and only a handful rotate onto the walls at a time.
Go when you have time to hunt: the SBS headline was "Take your time to look closely". The catch is built in, since you won't see everything. Tickets are 18,000 won, members go free, and booking is at ticket.leeum.org.
Editor's pick
About 50 crystals are wedged into the stone wall outside, visible only from the right angle, and the curator calls that the "right to miss". No set route and a glowing skatepark in the lobby; it rewards time, and you won't find everything.
Look for
Gravitta (2025), in the lobby
A curved glow-in-the-dark skatepark filling the round lobby, which soaks up light by day and glows blue when the lights are off.
Mobiousss (2026)
An eight-metre steel structure of ramps and bowls that reads as tangled tunnels at eye level and as an infinity sign from above.
The crystal wall
Look along the museum's stone gabion wall outside for about 50 crystals wedged into the gaps, which flash only from the right angle.
Density, GITD (2025)
A faintly glowing stone floating in mid-air on a magnetic field, in a vitrine among Joseon white porcelain in the Korean art galleries.
Untitled (1998)
Fifty-seven mechanical-pencil leads standing upright in a wall recess, held up by balance alone.
Good for
- Going Solo
- Out-Of-Town Guests
Skip if
You want a clear route and to see every work: there's no set path and most drawings stay boxed.
Free in the same building
- Gilt-bronze Miniature Buddhist Flagpole with Dragon FinialA Goryeo-dynasty gilt-bronze ceremonial flagpole finial, designated South Korean National Treasure No. 136, on permanent view in Leeum's traditional-art galleries. Free entry.
- Traditional Korean Art Collection (M1)Leeum's Mario Botta-designed M1 building holds its permanent collection of Korean ceramics, Buddhist sculpture, calligraphy and metalwork, including several National Treasures. Free entry.
Also at Leeum Museum of Art
On now nearby
Image credits
2
- Dali · Differently · DaliCourtesy of Hangaram Art Museum
- Leeum Museum of ArtTakato Marui, CC BY-SA 2.0