Seoul Metropolitan Government Art Museum of Photography 《Martin Parr: We Are Martin Parr》

If you have ever posted a lunch photo on social media, you are already living in Martin Parr's world

Have you ever taken a picture of what you ate today on your phone and posted it? If so, you will quickly understand why this exhibition is both funny and a little uncomfortably familiar. British photographer Martin Parr (1952~2025) pointed his camera straight at the most ordinary scenes of everyday life long before smartphones existed: people eating ice cream on the beach, crowds leaving proof-of-visit photos at tourist spots, and brightly colored consumer goods packed into supermarket carts. At a time when serious black-and-white photography was treated as the only real art, he broke that convention with vivid colors, bold flash, and close-up shots. This exhibition, Martin Parr: We Are Martin Parr, is the first major retrospective in Asia since his death in 2025 and the first solo exhibition by an overseas artist at the Seoul Museum of Art Photography Seoul. It was completed together with Magnum Photos and the Martin Parr Foundation, and centers on 14 signature series, presenting around 500 photographs and 90 photobooks, for a total of 595 works across the venue.

The exhibition runs from July 16 to October 18, 2026. The venue is the newly opened Seoul Museum of Art Photography Seoul in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, and admission is free, with no advance reservation required.

A 5-minute walk from Chang-dong Station, here is how I planned the day

The first thing to decide is only one: since neither reservations nor tickets are needed, you can just go on any day you like. Because it is a free exhibition, there is no need to worry about sold-out entry either. Just keep in mind that closing times vary by day. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays until 7:00 p.m. (during the winter season, November to February, until 6:00 p.m.); it is closed on Mondays, and admission ends one hour before closing. I went on a weekday late in the afternoon and had plenty of time until 8:00 p.m., but if you want to avoid crowds, I recommend a weekday morning or late afternoon.

Getting there is easier than you might think. From Exit 1 of Chang-dong Station, where Subway Lines 1 and 4 intersect, it is only about 260 meters to the museum, about a 5-minute walk. It is somewhat on the northeastern outskirts compared with central Seoul, so the travel time is a bit longer, but since it is a transfer station served by two lines, access itself is convenient. The Seoul Robot and AI Science Museum stands right next door, so it is not hard to find the building either. Inspired by the opening and closing of a camera aperture, the building has a distinctive facade, so you will immediately think, "There it is," even from a distance.

Once inside, language is not much of a concern. Work titles and shooting locations are labeled in both Korean and English, and you can check the artwork explanations via QR codes throughout the exhibition. Parr's photographs capture universal scenes of consumption, tourism, and media, so even if you do not read every explanation, most works make you smile just by looking at them, which means you can easily enjoy it even with foreign friends.

Walk through rooms divided by red, blue, yellow, and light green, one by one

When you enter the exhibition, each room has a different color. In the four galleries painted red, blue, yellow, black, and light green, 16 themes are scattered around, including "Small Worlds," "Last Resort," "Bored Couples," "Common Sense," "Bad Weather," "Let's All Dance," "Death Selfies," "Mexico," "North Korea," "South Korea," and "Self-Portraits." As you look at photos of people taking selfies in Las Vegas casino hotels, in front of the Acropolis in Athens, and children on New Brighton beach, you naturally come to understand why the title is "We Are Martin Parr," because in the end, all of them are reflections of ourselves.

The place I stayed the longest was the third-floor gallery. In the center of the spacious room stands a red display table, surrounded by a long sofa. This is the "90 Photobooks Selection" space, where 90 books were chosen from more than 150 photobooks Parr has published and placed on the shelves. Visitors were sitting on the sofa and pulling out books to flip through them. It is easy to pass by after only looking at the photos on the wall, but the real charm of this exhibition is the time spent sitting here and turning the pages. Your legs get a rest, and you also come to understand in a bodily way why Parr is famous as a "photobook author."

During the exhibition period, related events will also be held, including the international symposium "Why Martin Parr?", screenings of the documentary film I Am Martin Parr (2024) with audience talks, and educational programs for children, teenagers, and families. Since many of the programs are scheduled on specific dates, if you are interested, I recommend checking the official page before your visit.

Things worth knowing before you go

The biggest advantage of a free exhibition is that you can come and go without pressure. Still, if you keep a few things in mind, you will not make a wasted trip. First, Monday is a closed day, and admission ends one hour before closing. If you want to go late in the evening, Tuesday through Friday is the most relaxed option because it stays open until 8:00 p.m.; weekends close at 7:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. in winter), so you need to hurry earlier.

Docent tours are offered every day. They run at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., so if you want to see the exhibition with commentary, plan your visit around those times. With more than 500 works, even a quick look takes quite a while, so it is better to allow at least two to three hours.

Inside the museum, the first floor has a photobook cafe with furniture using red, green, and blue (RGB) tones, and the fourth floor has a photo reference library that anyone can use. However, the photo library is closed on Sundays, Mondays, and public holidays, so please keep that in mind. The underground parking lot is connected to the neighboring Robot Science Museum, so you can come by car, but since it is only a 5-minute walk from Chang-dong Station, public transportation is much more convenient. The Chang-dong area is not a neighborhood packed with food options like a downtown tourist district, so I recommend eating around Chang-dong Station before coming.

Recommended for these visitors

It is perfect for people who like posting photos on social media, or travelers who want to enjoy contemporary photography without anything too heavy. Thanks to the strong colors and sense of humor, you can enjoy it even if you do not know much about photography, and because it is free, there is no burden. Although it takes a little effort to go out to Chang-dong, just beyond central Seoul, the experience of revisiting "our everyday lives" in this unfamiliar museum, only 5 minutes from Chang-dong Station, is well worth it. If you want to add a quiet cultural outing to your travel itinerary for a day, be sure to visit before October 18.