Museum SAN, Wonju, S. Korea
My initial reasons for visiting Museum SAN were to see the James Turrell exhibition and to enjoy the museum’s outdoor gardens. But the experience turned out to be much more than what I expected.
My trip to South Korea this time was a last-minute addition to a longer trip so I did not do much research about this museum until 2 days prior to my visit. The most challenging part of this museum visit is getting there.
My First Day Trip out of Seoul
The best way to get to the museum is by car. I did not have an international driving license so my only option was the public transport + local shuttle bus or Taxi.
Personally, I am more comfortable taking the trains than buses. So I looked up ways to get there by KTX. The museum website has a pretty good list of directions on how to get there, but again, the challenging part is making sure the connecting transits match up. To add to the challenge, the local bus schedules from the Wonju town to the museum do not exactly match the train schedules, at least based on my research so far. Significant wait time is expected regardless, hence the taxi option.
My Route:
Seoul local bus from Insadong to Cheongnyangni Station. (30 minute +10 minute walking)
KTX from Cheongnyangni Station to Wonju Station. (1 hour wait + 1 hour train ride)
Taxi from Wonju Station to Museum SAN (10 min wait + 30 min ride time)
My Return Route:
Local Wonju Bus from Museum to Wonju Station (45 minute bus ride)
KTX from Wonju Station to Cheongnyangni Station (1.5 hour wait + 1 hour train ride)
Local train from Cheongnyangni Station to Gwanghamun Station, then walked back to the Insadong area.
What I would do in the future is to take the bus or the KTX to Wonju Majong Station (which is closer to the Museum SAN than Wonju Station). Also, book any tickets ahead of time, of course!
Museum SAN direction official website
On the way to the museum, since all seats on the KTX to Wonju and Wonju Majong station is sold out, I ended up getting a standing ticket. More on this here.
A Calm and Peaceful Art Space in the Mountains
Opened in 2013, Museum SAN was founded by the late Mrs. Lee, In-hee—Hansol Group advisor and the eldest daughter of Samsung chairman Lee, Byung-chul.
The SAN in the museum’s name is short for Space Art Nature. Meanwhile, the word San in Korean means mountain which is a nice wordplay considering its location: Oak Valley, Wonju, South Korea.
The museum was designed by Japanese Architect Tadao Ando and featured the architect’s signature concrete walls, meditative vibe, and use of geometric shapes highlighted by occasional sharp angles in the interior.
The museum experience can be divided into 6 distinct experiences:
A Flower garden with a Meditation Space
Water Garden
Main Museum building + Outdoor Cafe
The Stone garden
An intimate meditation experience
James Turrell at Museum SAN
Highlight 1: Space of Light, A Meditative, Architectural Experience
During my visit, part of the flower garden is closed for construction. Also, it was in early September so there was not much blooms going on. The highlight for me was the new meditation space designed by Tadao Ando that opened in 2023, called Space of Light.
This outdoor meditation space is made of concrete, a signature of the architect, and is located on a mound, giving it additional elevation. The space features a long, narrow concrete walkway leading to the meditation space. The meditation space itself is quite small and felt like a tall chamber with concrete wall, and geometric slits on the roof. No artificial lighting is used in this space.
The cutouts on the roof allow natural light to pass through, creating dramatic shadows within the meditation space that moves throughout the day. It is a time-sensitive experience so I recommend that you visit this space at the start of your trip and revisit is again on your way out, closer to sunset time.
Highlight 2: A Grand, Red Entrance by the Water Garden.
At the time of my visit, a section of the flower gardens was closed off for renovations. However, the garden is large enough that this closure is barely noticeable.
The water garden continued immediately after the flower garden. It was a seamless transition marked by stone walls and ponds. Overall the experience is very peaceful and tranquil. The lack of crowd in the museum definitely helps set this ambience.
At the end of the water garden is Alexander Liberman's red sculpture, Archway. The large sculpture also serves as a grand gesture, welcoming visitors to the museum’s main building. The installation of this sculpture in this location is part of the initial design of the museum.
“After visiting about 20 of Tadao Ando’s buildings from Osaka to Naoshima, my mother-in-law and I were so moved by the experiential art of James Turrell in Naoshima that we invited the artist himself to visit the site of Museum SAN to propose an artwork and space.”
Highlight 3: An outdoor cafe with a view.
There are two cafes in the museum. The first is a smaller one right after the ticketing lobby, and the other is in the main building.
The main cafe is in the main building and includes large outdoor seating set on the edge of the mountain. The water garden completes the experience, as visitors can enjoy expansive views of nature accompanied by the calming sounds of water.
I imagine the views will be even more breathtaking during the fall season when the leaves are in different hues of oranges and reds.
Highlight 4: A Stone Garden
The stone garden reminds me of Japanese stone gardens typically found in old Japanese temples. The use of circular shapes is very prominent here. The walking pathways in the garden are also non-linear, encouraging visitors to meander.
The ground is made up of mostly white and grey pebbles or stones, and there are round, dome-like structures made of stones scattered throughout the garden, each about 1.8m tall.
When we think of a garden we will automatically think of large trees, shrubs, and lots of greeneries. This garden, on the other hand, is predominantly white and grey. Trees in this garden are not large and quite sparse. Some areas can even feel a bit barren. However, the vibe is very peaceful and still full of warmth despite this, an interesting experience.
Recently, I saw some pictures of this garden during a snowfall and they were beautiful. I wish I could return here in winter someday.
Highlight 5: Meditation in an art museum.
The meditation hall is located in this garden. It is quite discreetly placed. There is only one signage leading to a small staircase down to a concrete dome structure where the meditation hall is.
The mediation hall is quite humble in size. Only 15 participants are allowed at any one time. Each meditation session is about 30 minutes. The experience began with the participants lining up to enter the hall one by one. A welcome tea was served at the entrance, after which we were asked to remove our shoes and socks (optional). The concrete floor was cool to the touch, a nice contrast to the hot weather outside.
The interior is shaped like a dome, and the meditation space takes up two-thirds of this space. meditation mats were provided and arranged neatly in a semi-circle around the wall perimeter. So everyone has a good view of the instructor. Instructions are done in Korean and English.
Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside. Checkout the link at the end f this post for photos of the meditation hall
Source: Museum SAN official website
© James Turrell Photo: Florian Holzherr. Source: Museum SAN
Highlight 6: James Turrell
At the end of the stone garden is the James Turrell Gallery. This building housed 4 works by the artist: Sky Space, Horizon Room, Ganzfeld, and Wedgework. The experience is a guided tour. Just like the meditation hall, visitors must book a time for this when buying their tickets at the ticketing lobby.
The tour is only available in Korean, however, I think it is still ok for non-Korean speakers to attend. Language is not needed to experience the artworks but we do need to listen to instructions on where to go next as we transition between each artwork.
TIP: The interior is very dark and visitors will encounter stairs, curtained entrances, etc. Oftentimes, visitors had to walk in a single line holding onto a railing, touching a wall, or simply following the shadows of the people in front so it can get dangerous if you don’t know where to go or what to expect. For those who don’t speak Korean, don’t be the first and last in line, stay in the middle and follow the crowd.
Overall the experience is nice. However, because this experience is timed, visitors are not allowed to experience each room at their own pace. This would be my only complaint about this experience.
TIP: If you can plan this visit weeks ahead, you should look into the nighttime Turrell experience: Colorful Night. It is a sunset viewing program in James Turrell Installations: Skyspace and Horizon Room. It is only available on Fridays and Saturdays, and it is really worth the effort to book ahead.
If the daytime experiences of these artworks are peaceful and calm with muted hues, the experiences they provide at twilight are the total opposite. At this time of day, visitors can witness calm pastel hues change into different deep saturated colors. As the sun sets, the colors in the room will also change. Having experienced similar artwork at the MOMA: PS1 in NYC, it is really quite an experience that everyone can enjoy and appreciate.
Appreciating Ugo Rondinone’s Monks in a Stone Garden and the Interior of Museum SAN’s main building.
Outdoor view of BURN TO SHINE, a solo exhibition by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone at Museum SAN, 2024.
Outdoor view of BURN TO SHINE, a solo exhibition by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone at Museum SAN, 2024.
