The Seoul Arts Center: Enjoy Art, Musicals, and Performances
Coming up on its 30 year anniversary, the Seoul Arts Center (예술의전당) is what to check out if you’re interested in art exhibitions, plays, musicals, operas, and more. It’s a place that hosts musicals in its grand colosseum-like opera house, exhibits from artists from around the world, and performances by Korean artists. There is also a deluge of places to eat at from your typical Paris Croissant to full-on restaurants like Dam. Spend a day in and around the Seoul Arts Center in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul and feel the artsy vibes of the city.
Plan a trip to the Seoul Arts Center:
- How To Get There
- Basic Info
- What To Know About the Seoul Arts Center
- What To Do
- What To Do With Kids
- Where To Eat
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How To Get There
Address: 2406 Nambusunhwanro, Seocho-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 서초구 남부순환로 2406)
By Public Transportation: From Seocho Station, exit 3, take the no.11 bus for four steps, and cross the street to reach the location.
Basic Info
Hours: Vary by program
Amenities: Restrooms, cafe, restaurants, nursing room, parking
Website: Seoul Arts Center website
What To Know About the Seoul Arts Center
The Seoul Arts Center is a great place where you can go to experience performances, fine and exquisite art, and orchestra performances in Seoul. The campus is pretty big, so there will be some walking involved. There are both an English and Korean version of the website, but the Korean one tells you a lot more details, so make sure to check it as well after using translation software to make sure you don’t miss out on any limited-time performances coming up.
The art exhibits change periodically, so if you are planning to come to the art center, make sure you come sooner than later and keep an eye on what’s going on because you’ll find great exhibitions throughout the year. You don’t want to miss out. However, some things will always remain the same—like the access to a Korean classical music performances and the wide range of calligraphy at the Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum. Read on to find out more.
What To Do
See Artistic Exhibitions
Hangaram Art Museum
Hangaram Art Museum is a three level building with 6 exhibition halls. In the center of the lobby is Cafe Matisse and an art shop and art all around. Recently, there was a Michael Craig-Martin Exhibition. They host fantastic exhibitions here so keep an eye out for what’s on next.
- Days: Closed Monday
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 7:00pm
- Admission: Adult: W20,000; Teenagers: W15,000; Children: W13,000
Hangaram Design Museum
This is the first design museum in all of South Korea and was created and registered in 1999. The exhibitions here are ever changing, but always worth checking out. The most notable exhibitions from over the years have been Public Design in Denmark – Contrapunk>, <Life Design 1 – Chair You Want, Werner Panton, Miffy’s Joyful Art Museum, Formula One, Bruno Munari, and Finnish Design Exhibition, and Danish Design Exhibition.
- Days: Closed Monday
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 7:00pm
Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum
Created along with the music room in 1988, it houses over 1,300 pieces of modern East Asian calligraphy as well as materials on the history of modern calligraphy and paintings in Korea. They have hosted a variety of Korean calligraphy events over the years like the Korean Calligraphy History Special Exhibition. There are 5 exhibition halls that are continuously changing presentations so you could visit again and again and see something just beautiful.
- Days: Closed Monday
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 7:00pm
See Musicals and Music Performances
There are periodically shifting events you can go to there like the Ghibli Music festival or even a Death Note musical. It is the largest place in the area to watch a musical performance.
The best way to get tickets is to buy them right outside of the exhibits. Tickets for art exhibitions can be purchased on site. For anything in the opera stadium, you should be able to buy the tickets through Interpark Global. The ticket box will be at the second rightmost booth inside the opera stadium, and you will need the last four digits of your phone number to confirm your purchase.
Opera House
There are more than 2000 seats in the beautiful Opera House that opened in 2008 exclusively for ballet and opera performances. There is a Proscenium Arched stage and the classic horseshoe structure that provides a good view from every vantage point.
CJ Towol Theater
The CJ Towol Theater houses a little over 1,000 seats and is used for a variety of performing arts showcases. While it is smaller than the Opera House, it provides a more unique experience with its state-of-the-art stage mechanisms and sound assist devices. It is said that it “perfectly embodies the structure and technical aspects.” The smaller-scale performances can be found there.
Jayu Theater
As the most experimental and innovative performance hall in the Seoul Arts Center, the Jayu Small Theater can be warped around for any occasion. It can fit up to 300 people if the director requires it, but it is usually displayed as a little theater to break down the barrier between actor and audience. For people that like a more interactive experience, this is the kind of place for you.
Concert Hall
With a capacity of 2,500, it’s the perfect place to watch a musical performance. The three-story “auditorium perfectly digests and delivers all sound areas from delicacy to grandeur with a unique arena-type space design” as they put it.
IBK Chamber Hall
IBK is a two-story hall designed exclusively for chamber music. It is a space where you can enjoy vivid emotions to the extent that it is evaluated that the performances and breathing of the performers on the stage are transmitted to the audience, creating the illusion of being right next to the stage.” It seats 600 and is a great place to bear witness to Korean classical music.
What To Do With Kids
1101 Children’s Lounge
If you have young children, there’s also an art experience space to take them on the premises. There are various zones inside including a Book Cube, Exhibition Space, the Colorful Playground, an Arts Zone, Arts Studio, and the Bistro. They hold programs at various times so check out their website for information on what’s going on to find out when your child can join in the artistic fun.
- Website: 1101 Children’s Lounge
Where To Eat
- Cafes: If you are looking for more of a pastry and cafe setting, something like Paris Croissant (8:00am ~ 11:00pm), Terarosa Coffee(8:30am ~ 10:00pm), or Sweet 807(11:00am ~ 7:00pm) would be perfect for that. You can find all three of them located in the Vitamin Station.
- Restaurants: For western choices, there’s the Italian restaurant, 1101 Bistro(10:00am ~ 8:00pm, closed Monday), Lina’s (sandwiches)(10:00am ~ 7:00pm), and Cafe Mozart 502 (10:00am ~ 9:00pm). Bistro is also in the Vitamin Station, Lina’s in on the first level of the Opera House, and Mozart is near the music fountain. For Korean restaurants, there’s options like DAM (11:30am ~ 9:00pm) and Yehyang (11:30am ~ 7:00pm—closed from 2:00pm ~ 3:00pm). You’ll find the former Located between the Opera House and Hangaram Art Museum. As for the latter, it’s on the first level of the Seoul Calligraphy Museum.
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