We visited South Korea in September 2025 for the Cheongju Biennale, which impressed us enough back in 2009 that we wanted to go again, and afterwards spent a week in Seoul before continuing our travels to Laos.
As you’d expect from folks who call themselves ArtNomads, we spent MUCH of our time in Seoul visiting contemporary art galleries and museums, as we’d toured the palaces, DMZ and other tourist destinations in 2009, and didn’t figure they’d changed much (though they’re all totally worthwhile!!).
One of our best discoveries this time was the Arario Museum | IN SPACE and its adjoining gallery. We thoroughly enjoyed this lesser-known museum; read on to see if a visit there is up your alley.
What is the Arario Museum?
The Arario Museum is a private contemporary art museum in Seoul, South Korea.
It’s the passion project of entrepreneur and collector CI Kim, and is housed in multiple sites both in Seoul and Jeju. The museum portion, IN SPACE, is a repurposed architect’s office structure which has evolved since its construction in 1971 (feels / presents itself as much older, historic even) and now includes (meshes with?) a very contemporary gallery with rotating exhibitions. From what we can tell the museum itself is a (semi)-permanent installation of pieces from Kim’s private collection.
It’s a really unique space, with floor plans unique to each level, and a variety of narrow passages, tight staircases and low ceilings; at times, you feel you’re exploring a private vault, wine cellar… or dungeon. The moody, strategic, but sufficient lighting reflects this as well.
While these characteristics add to the intrigue of the space, and the art on exhibit, it does sadly mean the museum space is not Accessible.
What you’ll see in the Arario Museum
As we said, we believe the major installation of works here to be at least semi-permanent; the current show has been installed since 2014.
The collection has a number of “big names” like Andy Warhol, Kiki Smith, Naim Jun Paik, Barbara Kruger, Tracy Emin, and Cindy Sherman as well as some artists who were new to us, like Philippe Pareno, Kim Beong, and Subodh Gupta.
What we found most interesting was how “dark” a lot of the artwork felt. Not in terms of lighting, which was generally excellent, but in terms of content.
No happy happy joy joy candyfloss pop here.
More like emotionally intense, existential, and at times even apocalyptic. This makes sense as Mr. Kim states he felt close to death at times while building his business, and we feel this is reflected in the thruline of this collection. In fact, there’s a neon artwork right out front:
Actually, many works on exhibit dealt with “death” overtly:
We really liked this collection, especially given the thruline, and took a lot more pics, but we don’t want to spoil it for you if you go, so we’ll stop here.
In all, there are probably around 100 works by 30 artists in the current installation. Each artist has a dedicated “space”, though not necessarily a room.
A large example of this is “Museum in a Museum: A Suite of 8 rooms”, recreating the apartment and daily life of artist LI Qing (images from Arario Museum site):
Temporary / Solo Exhibit Space
AN Gyungsu : Layered
There is also a section of the museum which hosts two temporary exhibits per year.
For our visit, (and running through January 18, 2026) we were treated to another artist new to us: “Layered” by AN Gyungsu.
We really like(d) these non/realist works, which segued well with other disaster/apocalypse -themed exhibitions we’ve seen recently.
Depicting scenes from actual tragedies, including typhoons, earthquakes and even the concentration camp in Dachau, these beautifully-rendered paintings connected poignantly with the darker tone of the permanent collection.
We figure he’s someone to watch: check out his site for more!
Arario Gallery
LEE Jinju : Discontinuouscontinuity
Attached to the museum, but operated as a semi-separate entity is Arario Gallery, which hosts rotating contemporary art exhibits. For our visit, it presented DISCONTINUOUSCONTINUITY by LEE Jinju.
We say semi-separate, because a quick look at the gallery’s artist roster shows quite a few exhibitions for artists with work in the museum’s collection (not to mention CI Kim himself), so we assume there’s some mutual hand-washing happening.
The exhibit filled 3 or 4 floors of this thoroughly contemporary, yet still intimate (cramped?) gallery. We felt the semi-surrealist work was beautifully rendered and featured a few surprises, particularly in how / where images were presented. There’s a very sculptural aspect to this exhibition, if not the artist’s work generally.
Have a look at her site (https://artistjinju.com/ ) to learn more.
Arario Gallery is free and open to the public, and while it’s arranged over 3 floors, it’s wheelchair accessible.
Our Rating
We’ll give the Arario Museum 4 stars, as it’s a really great find, with some well-lit, thoughtfully curated art in a super interesting space.
We spent around 90 minutes exploring both the museum and the attached gallery. The only downside is the lack of accessibility in the main museum, which keeps it from earning a perfect score in our book. (That and our script doesn’t do 1/2 stars.. it’s really 4.5)
We did not visit the Jeju locations, which apparently house the Museum project’s film collection, and two repurposed motels (Dongmun Motel I, II) which house additional elements of Kim’s collection. In fact, I just learned of these additional locations, and am bummed we missed them, based on the work we’ve seen.
Don’t miss this spot in Seoul if you’re an art lover!
The Arario Gallery IS fully accessible, and free to visit. We’d probably give DISCONTINUOUSCONTINUITY 4 stars as well.
Why do we call it a “hidden gem”? Because the way it’s sited and landscaped, you could walk right past it and not notice! We almost did.
Practical Information for Visiting Arario Museum & Gallery, Seoul
📍 Location:
Arario Museum | IN SPACE
Yulgok-ro, Seoul (“Museum Road”)– Between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, near the Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music and Seoul Museum of Craft Art.
This is also close by the the Insadong arts district (which has changed considerably since our previous visit).
🕒 Hours:
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00am – 7:00pm
(Closed Mondays)
🎟️ Admission:
₩15,000 KRW (about $10.50 USD)
Discounts available for seniors (65+)
Children under 10 are not permitted.
☕ Bonus: There’s an on-site café with a cozy seating area, if you’re feeling peckish.
For the latest updates: Arario Museum Visit Info
Have You Been?
We’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve visited the Arario Museum. Share your impressions, favorite pieces, or tips for fellow travelers in the comments below!