As with so many of the travel attractions in this country, I’d first come across Museum SAN on a friend’s Instagram feed. The stunning water feature overlooking the Oak Valley mountains is the signature shot, a truly striking panorama that showcases the scale of this design and art gallery. There’s also the Archway, an imposing bright red sculpture designed by Alexander Liberman that welcomes visitors to the main building. Photo worthy? Judging by the hordes of people jostling to get their picture underneath it, you bet.

Initially named the Hansol Museum in 2013, Tadao Ando’s minimalist stone-clad structure houses a maze of gallery spaces dedicated to Korean history, printmaking and contemporary design. The grounds are actually pretty sprawling, and beyond the main building there’s also the Flower Garden, Stone Garden, Water Garden as well as James Turrell Hall.

To be honest; you’re probably going to need a car here (or pay a hefty taxi fee). Given its location in the mountains, you could either rent a car or even join a tour through an operator like Klook or Trazy. I also recommend arriving here with at least 4-5 hours to spare so you can really take in all the exhibits and tour the grounds.

Address: 260 Okeubaelli 2-gil, Jijeong-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do
Entrance fee: 18,000 won for adults, 10,000 won for students
Opening times: Tues-Sun, 10AM–6PM


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