The museums in Seoul are known for being big, modern, and accessible

There are so many things to do in the city that it’s hard to pick just one. All of them will be tested by a new museum that will open in the summer of 2021. The Seoul Museum of Craft Art (SeMoCA) is our favourite museum in the city. It has beautiful architecture, creative curation, and exciting things to see.

Even though there are many craft museums in Korea, SeMoCA is the first national museum that is only about crafts. It was opened to teach people about Korean crafts and show how they are made step by step. It also honours craftspeople from all over history as well as great donors who helped set up the museum. Even though the word “museum” is singular, this cultural space has more than one building, and we’ll show you all of them today.

The goal of the Seoul Museum of Craft Art is to be a place where traditional crafts and new crafts can meet and talk about their value and the future of crafts. The museum has galleries about the “beginning of crafts,” when clay was shaped, engraved, and baked. It also has galleries and exhibitions that focus on crafts’ technical, practical, artistic, and cultural values throughout time and space.

The country’s first national museum for Korean craft art opened to the public on July 16 with eight craft exhibitions. It is located in Jongno, which is in the middle of Seoul. In the last four months, nearly 80,000 people have visited the museum.

There are about 23,000 works of art in the museum, including treasures from Korea like the four-piece “Folding Screen of Embroidered Sagye Bungyeogdo” from the late Goryeo Kingdom (918–1392), which was named Treasure No. 653. The craft archives room, which is on the third floor, also has about 15,000 documents.

The museum’s craft shop is a must-see spot where you can buy the work of 30 craft artists whose pieces are in the museum’s collection. Some things are made of metal, wood, ceramics, textiles, and lacquer. The art pieces which are on display and for sale will change with each of the 24 seasons on the lunar calendar.

You can ask for an English-language digital docent at the information desk for any of the museum’s exhibits. The museum also has a children’s museum where kids can try their hands at woodworking, ceramics, metalworking, textiles, and open studios.

Seoul Museum of Craft

Address: 4 Yulgok-ro 3-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82-2-6450-7000
Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 18:00 Closed Mondays Holidays January 1st, Open on Public Holidays
Notes: Advance reservation system required (Visitors who do not make a reservation in advance may be restricted from entering. 6 sessions per day, 90 people per session, 80 minutes per session Advanced reservations available on the website.
Price: FREE