In western Seoul's Geumcheon District, the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art (Seo SeMA) has opened as the city's first public museum dedicated to new media art. It completes the network of eight branches operated by the Seoul Museum of Art, focusing on works incorporating moving images, sound, performance, and conceptual art. The debut features performances exploring breath and shared air.
The Seo-Seoul Museum of Art (Seo SeMA) opened on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Seoul's Geumcheon District as the city's first public museum devoted to new media art. It forms part of the eight-branch network run by the Seoul Museum of Art, with exhibitions centered on moving images, sound, performance, conceptual art, internet art, and software-based practices.
Inaugural director Park Na-woon stated at a press conference: “What we call new media goes beyond cutting-edge technology and computer-based tools. It is experimental art that uses a wide range of media to explore the beings around us — the material and immaterial, the human and the nonhuman.” She added: “In that sense, we envision this as an institution for new media art in its broadest definition.” The museum also aims to lower cultural barriers for residents in Seoul's southwestern region.
The two-story building, designed by architect Kim Chan-joong of THE_SYSTEM LAB, features glass walls on the ground floor for transparency and a hammered stainless steel facade on the upper level that scatters light.
Three inaugural presentations launched the museum. “SeMA Performance: Breathing” involves pieces by 27 artists and collectives, considering breath as air movement and a life-sustaining condition, reflecting on traces of human action in shared air. “Mneme Topos” uses in-between spaces like the lobby, courtyard, and loading dock shutters to trace memories from the building's decade-long construction and its impact on locals. Outdoors, “SeMA Project V_Yaloo” presents “Shin In-ho Landing,” featuring a fictional 86-year-old K-pop idol modeled on the artist's grandmother as a pirate invading a data bank, blending family history and digital mythology. “Quivering Air” by GRAYCODE and jiiiiin is part of the opening performances.
In May, “The Transparent |Adolescent| Machine of Western Seoul” will showcase over 10 large-scale works from the collection, including “Argos” by Kim Yun-chul, who represented the Korean Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. The installation acts as a giant muon detector, flashing light each time it detects cosmic radiation particles in the air.
