KOREA ON CUE · ISSUE 09 · YONGSAN

Yongsan: Museums, a Memorial and a Hill in Hannam

From Ichon Station, the National Museum of Korea stands beside Yongsan Family Park. The War Memorial of Korea is a few stops north, and Leeum sits on the hill above Hangangjin.

Read the first story
A wide pond reflecting a pale stone building and a pavilion with a green roof. People small and distant. No lettering. Editorial image.

Recommended reading order

  1. National Museum of Korea: The Open Yard and the Pond to Show a Friend Before Any Ticket — Lulu Follows the Museum Walkway from Ichon Station to the West Gate, Then Notes, in the Order She Would Show a Friend, the Empty Yard at the Heart of a Building of More Than 140,000 Square Metres and the Pond That Reflects It — On a Wednesday Afternoon01National Museum of Korea: The Open Yard and the Pond to Show a Friend Before Any TicketThe first part of “Yongsan.” The National Museum of Korea opened in its new building in Yongsan on 28 October 2005. Its website gives a total floor area of 146,765.88 square metres, designed by Junglim Architecture. The permanent galleries are free, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays the museum stays open until 9 p.m. Lulu, choosing places to show a friend arriving from abroad next month, looks at the open yard in the middle of the building and the pond in front of it before any gallery.SEOUL · 8 min read
  2. The Room of Quiet Contemplation: Walking All the Way Round Two Pensive Bodhisattvas — Rina Heads Straight from Ichon Station to the 2nd Floor of the National Museum of Korea, Takes the Dark Entrance Passage Slowly, and Sorts Two Statues — One 6th-Century, One 7th-Century — into Left and Right on a Saturday Evening02The Room of Quiet Contemplation: Walking All the Way Round Two Pensive BodhisattvasPart two of “Yongsan.” The Room of Quiet Contemplation, on the 2nd floor of the National Museum of Korea’s Permanent Exhibition Hall, opened on 12 November 2021: a 439 m² gallery that shows two national-treasure pensive bodhisattva statues side by side. Before then, the museum says, the pair had been shown together in a room of their own only three times. On her first visit Rina reached this room almost last, after every other floor. This time she comes for this one room.SEOUL · 9 min read
  3. Yongsan Family Park: A Picnic, Chosen Again Without the Lunch — Maya Walks Over from Exit 2 of Ichon Station and Re-picks a Picnic Scene She Found on Screen, This Time to Fit the Park’s Own Rules, on a Weekday Afternoon03Yongsan Family Park: A Picnic, Chosen Again Without the LunchThe third part of “Yongsan.” Yongsan Family Park opened on 5 November 1992 on land once taken up by a golf course. On Maya’s list of scenes was a picnic: a mat spread on a wide lawn and a packed lunch opened on it. But the general visitor notes on Seoul’s parks website say that, to protect wildlife, bringing in food is prohibited. So this time Maya takes the lunch out of the scene and chooses it again.SEOUL · 8 min read
  4. The War Memorial of Korea: One Straight Line from the Plaza to the Door — Noah Walks Up from Exit 12 of Samgakji Station, Follows the Centre Line of a Wide Plaza past the Colonnades on Either Side, and Slows Down All the Way to the Entrance of the Memorial Hall, Closed for Works04The War Memorial of Korea: One Straight Line from the Plaza to the DoorPart four of “Yongsan.” The War Memorial of Korea opened on 10 June 1994, and its exhibition halls are free to enter. Noah, who reads distances and routes with his eyes, follows the axis that runs from a broad plaza to the entrance at the very centre of the building. Because this is a place of remembrance, it is also a story about slowing down.SEOUL · 9 min read
  5. Leeum Museum of Art: Three Scenes on One Hill — Elena Climbs the Lane from Exit 1 of Hangangjin Station and Reads Three Buildings — Terracotta Brick, Stainless Steel and Black Concrete — as Three Separate Scenes05Leeum Museum of Art: Three Scenes on One HillThe last part of “Yongsan.” Leeum Museum of Art opened in Hannam-dong, Seoul, in 2004, in buildings designed by three architects: Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas. In photographs it always looked like a single picture. Elena, who reads scenes, climbs the hill and takes it apart into three. The traditional art collection is free, and the museum is closed on Mondays.SEOUL · 8 min read
  6. Itaewon Station, Exit 3: choosing a place for dinner — Ethan walks Bogwang-ro 60-gil and the streets around Seoul Central Mosque, checking menus and halal signs before choosing where to eat06Itaewon Station, Exit 3: choosing a place for dinnerEvery exit at Itaewon Station opens onto a different neighbourhood.SCENE · 14 min read

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