A masterpiece created by world-renowned architects

The museum is composed of three individual buildings which are in themselves as captivating as the works of art on display in the museum. Also, there is a spacious outdoor exhibition area presenting fascinating sculptures and art installations created by such world renowned artists as Louise Bourgeois and Dasseo Miyajima.

Museum 1 was designed by Maria Botta, a famous architect from Switzerland who also designed “Kyobo Tower” in Gangnam. He was inspired by the design of traditional Korean castles in his design of the exterior museum walls which are made of red terra cotta tiles symbolizing earth and fire. One of the special features of the museum is an impressive circular dome, or “rotunda” which is situated in the middle of the exhibition hall, and represents Korean porcelain. The museum showcases more than 120 Korean cultural artifacts.

Designed by a French architect, Jean Nouvel, Museum 2 features a glass wall, allowing natural sunlight directly into the museum, and utilizes rusted stainless steel to symbolize the earth. The museum houses various modern and contemporary art works ranging from the 1940s to the present. The artworks are by internationally renowned Korean and international artists such as Kim Hwangi, Baek Namjun, Lee Uhwan, Donald Judd (an American minimal artist), Damien Hirst (an English modern artist) and Jean Dubuffet (a French Pop artist).

Rem Koolhaas, who is an architect from the Netherlands as well as a professor at Harvard University, designed the Samsung Center for Child Education and Culture. It is built with concrete, glass and wood in a futuristic style.