5 Exhibitions Offering Different Perspectives in Winter Seoul

What did design change as the letters we read in books and magazines became information on a screen? This exhibition looks back at reading environments by connecting horizontal Hangeul typesetting and printing technology in the 1970s with graphic tools and the arrival of the web in the 1980s–1990s. At its heart is the idea that even familiar letters and images create different visual experiences when the tools and media used to make them change.

Comparing the texture of analog printed matter with the composition of digital screens makes the theme easy to follow even if you're not familiar with design. It's in Galleries 6 and 7 on B1 of MMCA Seoul, and according to the museum's latest schedule, it runs from November 27, 2026, to April 11, 2027. Plan it as a winter outing to read printed paper and on-screen design side by side. For admission and reservations, it's best to check the museum's detailed visitor information once it's released.

For Korean artists, Paris was both a place to experiment with new forms of expression and a city where they had to endure an unfamiliar language and way of life. Held to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, this exhibition explores the experience of being a stranger and artistic identity through the works of Korean artists active in France. You can view works by artists who took different paths, such as Kim Tschang-yeul, Lee Ungno, Bang Hai Ja and Rhee Seundja, within a single narrative.

If you want to add an exhibition to a winter walk in Seoul, make MMCA Deoksugung inside Deoksugung Palace your destination. It's a different venue from exhibitions held at MMCA Seoul, and this one uses the entire Deoksugung branch from December 17 to May 9 of the following year. Rather than grouping the works simply under the name Paris, comparing how the artists' lives and expression changed before and after their moves enriches the experience. Check the information for museum admission and palace entry separately.

Noh O-kyung and Seren Hui use new media works to ask how traces of the past remain in our present senses. Through the two artists' exchange and new works, the exhibition looks not only at moments when memory is vividly preserved, but also at how it gets lost or passed on in other forms. If you're interested in the relationship between screen, narrative and space, take your time following the connections between the works.

It uses Gallery 3 on the 1st floor of the SeMA Seo-Seoul Museum of Art, among other spaces, and runs free of charge until February 28, 2027. In winter, you can visit until 8 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and until 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Admission closes 30 minutes before closing time, and the museum is closed on Mondays and January 1, so check your holiday visit date first. To avoid confusing it with other Seoul Museum of Art branches with similar names, set the address on Siheung-daero 79-gil in Geumcheon-gu as your destination.

If you've thought of photography only as a tool for recording scenes visible to the human eye, this exhibition is a chance to broaden that view. It explores in its works the relationship between space and the information sensed by mechanical vision, prompting you to think about how landscapes seen with the eye differ from those built from data. It's a Photo Discovery exhibition at Photography Seoul Museum of Art, found in the 1st-floor lobby.

It ends on December 20, so it's best to schedule it for early winter. Admission is free, and it closes at 8 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and at 6 p.m. on winter weekends and public holidays. Keep in mind that last admission is one hour before closing. It isn't listed as having a docent tour, so rather than counting on a guided program, it's best enjoyed by reading the exhibition introduction and artwork information as you go. It's at the photography museum on Madeul-ro 13-gil, Dobong-gu.

What links the work of Suh Se-ok and Do Ho Suh is their house in Seongbuk-dong. A space that was the foundation of life and creation for one becomes, for the next generation, a place to revisit memories and relationships. Following the different works that unfold from the same house, the exhibition explores how family time and artistic legacy carry on beyond the form of the building itself.

It's open free of charge in Galleries 1 and 2 of Seongbuk Museum of Art until December 20. Don't stop at understanding each artist separately; compare what role their shared subject, the house, plays between the works. It's a nice indoor stop to add to a walk around Seongbuk-dong, but if you arrive late in the afternoon, check the 5:30 p.m. last admission first. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Mondays. Just head to the museum at 134 Seongbuk-ro.