From a 1928 Courthouse Building to a Contemporary Art Museum: Seoul Museum of Art Seosomun Main Branch

From the 1928 Gyeongseong Court to an art museum in 2002

The Seoul Museum of Art Seosomun Main Branch is not located at Nambusunhwan-ro in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, but at 61 Deoksugung-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (Seosomun-dong). This site once housed Pyeongniwon (Hanseong Court), Korea's first courthouse, and the surviving front section of the building was constructed in 1928 as the Gyeongseong Court.

After liberation, the building was used as the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea. After the Supreme Court moved to Seocho-dong in October 1995, it was used as the Seoul Museum of Art from 2002. The Renaissance-style front section of the former Supreme Court building became Registered Cultural Heritage No. 237 in 2006. The defining feature of the main branch is the combination of the historic architecture at the front and the modern exhibition wing at the rear.

4–6 minutes from City Hall Station Exits 1 and 10, entering via 61 Deoksugung-gil

On Subway Line 2, City Hall Station Exit 10 is the closest. It is approximately 260 m toward the Jungbu Registry Office of the Seoul Central District Court, or about a 4-minute walk. From City Hall Station Exit 1 on Line 1, the walk in the same direction is approximately 380 m and takes about 6 minutes.

Passengers on Line 5 can allow approximately 900 m, or about a 13-minute walk, from Seodaemun Station Exit 5 or Gwanghwamun Station Exit 6. By bus, get off at the City Hall·Seosomun Government Complex stop and take trunk buses 172, 472, 600, or 602, or branch bus 7019. Enter along the gentle slope continuing from the Deoksugung Stone Wall Road to view the outdoor sculptures and landscaping without a fence between you and them.

• Address: 61 Deoksugung-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (Seosomun-dong), postal code 04515
• Main telephone: 02-2124-8800
• Official website: https://sema.seoul.go.kr/kr/visit/seosomun

Open until 20:00 Tuesday–Thursday and 21:00 Friday; admission closes one hour before closing

Visiting hours are 10:00–20:00 from Tuesday through Thursday and 10:00–21:00 on Friday. On Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, hours vary by season: 10:00–19:00 from March to October and 10:00–18:00 from November to February. Admission is allowed until one hour before closing, so arriving more than 90 minutes before closing is advisable if you want to view the exhibitions at a relaxed pace.

The museum is closed every Monday and January 1, although it opens as usual when Monday is a public holiday. General admission is free, but special exhibitions may charge an admission fee, so check the exhibition page for your visit date separately for ticket and advance-reservation requirements. In May 2026, Yu Yeong-guk: The Mountain Is Within Me, a retrospective of Yu Yeong-guk, is scheduled, and an exhibition by Lynn Hershman Leeson is planned for October at the Seosomun Main Branch.

The context of the 4.5 m gallery on the first floor and the 93 works in the Cheon Kyung-ja Collection on the second floor

The first-floor gallery is the main branch's largest exhibition space, with a ceiling height of 4.5 m. Equipped with modular tracks in 5 m and 7 m units and movable partitions, it can be reconfigured for large-scale special exhibitions. Checking the floor plan for the day's exhibitions first can help shorten your route.

The second-floor Cheon Kyung-ja Collection gallery presents some of the 93 works donated by the artist Cheon Kyung-ja. The collection covers approximately 60 years of work, from the 1940s through the 1990s, including drawings, colored paintings, travel-themed colored paintings, ink-and-color paintings, and wartime documentary paintings. The Gana Art Collection on the same floor consists of 200 works representing Korean realism donated in 2001 by Lee Ho-jae, the collection's director. It includes 160 paintings, 10 Korean paintings, 7 prints, 17 sculptures, and 6 crafts.

The Library and Archives from 10:00 to 18:00, plus first-floor facilities for visitors with young children

The second-floor Library and Archives is open from 10:00 to 18:00 Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Mondays and public holidays. It provides Seoul Museum of Art publications, domestic and international art monographs and periodicals, exhibition catalogues, academic databases in the arts, and e-books. The inquiry telephone number is 02-2124-8927. Note that the Library and Archives is unavailable on Sundays when planning your itinerary.

The first floor has an information desk, a rest area, a SeMA Café, a nursing room, and a playroom. The playroom and nursing room were established in 2008 and are available only to children aged five or under accompanied by a parent; bringing food and beverages inside is prohibited. Strollers for infants up to 36 months, wheelchairs, elevators, lockers, and folding museum chairs are available, making it easier for stroller and wheelchair users to plan movement between floors.

Why City Hall Station is preferable to driving: parking at 400 won per 5 minutes

The parking lot operates from 09:00 to 22:00 Tuesday through Friday and from 09:00 to 21:00 on Mondays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. Parking costs 400 won per 5 minutes on weekdays and 300 won per 5 minutes on Saturdays and public holidays. Visitors to paid exhibitions receive the first 20 minutes of parking free.

The museum advises that parking may be difficult for ordinary visitors because parking space is limited and prioritized for art-transport and work vehicles. Vehicles with more than 12 seats cannot park, and vehicles subject to the vehicle-days-off system cannot use the parking lot on their designated off days. Vehicles belonging to people with disabilities, persons of national merit, people suffering from aftereffects of defoliant exposure, persons recognized as lifesavers, and independence activists are eligible for an 80% discount; compact and low-emission vehicles are eligible for a 50% discount. It is advisable to bring the relevant documentation.

• Recommended visit duration: approximately 90–150 minutes for one special exhibition together with the permanent collections on the second floor
• Deoksugung-gil walking route: the outdoor landscaping and sculptures along the museum approach can also be viewed from outside
• Information for international visitors: English exhibition information and English exhibition data are available; check separately for language support for each exhibition

A 2.5-hour itinerary combined with the Deoksugung Stone Wall Road

The Seosomun Main Branch lies within Jeongdong's modern and contemporary historical landscape, making it natural to return toward City Hall Station along the Deoksugung Stone Wall Road after visiting the museum. Even without viewing an exhibition, the museum itself allows visitors to read the differences between eras through the former courthouse's architectural front, the glass connecting space, and the modern exhibition wing layered within one building.

For a first visit, an efficient route is to start at City Hall Station Exit 10, view the first-floor special exhibition, the second-floor Cheon Kyung-ja Collection and Gana Art Collection, and the third-floor exhibition in that order, then descend toward Deoksugung-gil. However, special exhibitions may change to paid admission or reservation-only operation, and some galleries may close during changeovers. Check the exhibitions available on the official exhibition and program pages on the day of departure before setting out.