Where To Go For Culture Over Lunar New Year... 7 Exhibitions For The 80th Year Of Liberation And Impressionist Masterpieces

A Lunar New Year pause, filled with art
From historical showcases and Impressionist masterpieces to contemporary art
Seven exhibitions across Korea to visit this Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year holiday always feels brief. It is too short for a long trip, yet it feels wasteful to do nothing. In this ambiguous pocket of time, art becomes a pause at just the right pace. For the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday, major museums and art museums across the country are opening their doors to visitors. This year, in particular, the overlap of historical exhibitions commemorating the 80th anniversary of Liberation and collection shows from world-class museums has made the holiday feel even richer. You do not need to see a lot. We have selected seven exhibitions that are well worth a visit right now, where even just one or two shows are enough to refresh your mind.

From Impressionism to Early Modernism: Collectors of Light. Photo by National Museum of Korea

1. National Museum of Korea

The inner life of Yi Sunsin, and painters of light

The National Museum of Korea stands at the center of the holiday with two large-scale special exhibitions that span generations. "Our Yi Sunsin," commemorating the 80th anniversary of Liberation and the 480th anniversary of the birth of Yi Sunsin, focuses on the human being Yi Sunsin before he became a "heroic saint." It is the largest exhibition to date, featuring 369 pieces from 258 items of the head family’s relics, including the original handwritten National Treasure "Nanjung Ilgi" (War Diary of Yi Sunsin). It is striking in how it concentrates on records of anguish and choice rather than on heroic narrative.

Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of Liberation Day and the 480th Anniversary of Lee Sunsin's Birth: "Our Lee Sunsin" Photo Exhibition at the National Museum of Korea

Held in the same space, "From Impressionism to Early Modernism: People Who Collected Light" presents 81 works from the Robert Lehman Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The ways in which masters such as Van Gogh, Renoir, and C?zanne handled light are brought together through the discerning eye of a single collector.

The exhibition 'The Poetics of Extinction: On Rotting Art' calls for an ecological sensibility rather than an anthropocentric gaze, and circulation rather than permanence. Photo by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

2. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

Questioning the role of art through disappearance

At the Seoul branch next to Gyeongbokgung Palace, questions are raised about the museum tradition that has long taken preservation for granted. "The Poetics of Disappearance: On Rotting Art" incorporates the processes of decay and disappearance of artworks into the exhibition itself. It calls for circulation instead of permanence, and an ecological sensibility instead of a human-centered gaze. Viewers are invited to focus less on "what remains" and more on "the process of vanishing."

A retrospective that comprehensively covers the 60 years of work by Shin Sangho, a pioneer of modern Korean ceramics: 'Shin Sangho: Infinite Variations'. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon

3. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon

Sixty years written in clay

The Gwacheon branch, known for its beautiful natural surroundings, is especially fitting for the holiday. "Shin Sangho: Infinite Variations" is a retrospective that comprehensively surveys 60 years of work by Shin Sangho, a pioneer of Korean contemporary ceramics. Starting from traditional ceramics and expanding into sculpture, painting, and architecture, more than 90 works calmly reveal the temporality and potential of clay as a material.

The exhibition "Encounter, Modern Art Association 1957-1960" looks back on the short but intense journey of the Modern Art Association, which sought new artistic possibilities amid the tensions of reconstruction after the Korean War. Photo by National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju.

4. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju

The site of postwar Korean modernism

The Cheongju branch turns its gaze to the starting point of the history of Korean contemporary art. "Encounter, Modern Art Association 1957-1960" sheds light on the time when first-generation modernists such as Yoo Youngkuk, Park Goseok, and Han Mook refused to abandon art amid the postwar turmoil. From records of their refugee period in Busan to their transition into abstract art, around 150 works and archival materials are presented together.

Choi Jaeun's solo exhibition "Promise" contemplates coexistence between humans and nature through the DMZ's ecology and wildflowers. Photo by Seoul Museum of Art

5. Seoul Museum of Art

Two perspectives on coexistence and connection

At the Seosomun main building, two exhibitions that pose contemporary questions are being held simultaneously. "Choi Jaeeun: Promise (Where Beings Be)" contemplates the coexistence of humans and nature through the ecology and wildflowers of the DMZ. "PROXIMITIES" explores forms of "closeness" between different cultures through contemporary art centered on the United Arab Emirates.

The 8th Paik Nam June Art Award winner Jonas Joan's first solo exhibition in Korea, "The World Beyond the Human". Photo by Paik Nam June Art Center

6. Nam June Paik Art Center

Imagining the world after humans

The Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin connects the past and future of media art. "The World Beyond the Human," the first solo exhibition in Korea by Joan Jonas, winner of the 8th Nam June Paik Art Award, addresses the climate crisis and ecological issues through performance and video. "Paik Nam June from Every Angle" rereads Nam June Paik’s artistic insights from a contemporary perspective.

An architecture exhibition 'Nauijibina' that, amid population decline and the reorganization of care, reinterprets 'downsizing' not as decline but as a scale for sustainable living and asks about the possibility of an 'appropriate city' - Photo by Busan Museum of Modern Art

7. Busan Museum of Modern Art

Encountering ecological art on Eulsukdo

The Busan Museum of Modern Art, located on Eulsukdo Island at the mouth of the Nakdong River, presents the platform exhibition "Naui Jibina." The exhibition contemplates the city after the language of growth has come to a halt. Amid population decline and the reconfiguration of care, it rereads "downsizing" not as decline but as a scale for sustainable living, and asks about the possibility of an "appropriate city."

Tip

During the Lunar New Year holiday, most museums and art museums are closed on Lunar New Year’s Day itself (February 17). However, some institutions, including the National Museum of Korea, remain open throughout the holiday period. To be safe, visitors should always check each institution’s official website in advance for opening hours and whether reservations are required.