The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has opened the Photography Museum of Seoul (Photo-SeMA) in Dobong-gu district, marking South Korea's first public museum dedicated to photography. Spanning 7,048 square meters, the new venue draws from SeMA's collection of over 20,000 photographs and archival materials from the 1920s to the 1990s. It launches with two exhibitions themed around 'light obsession'—'Storage Story,' featuring commissioned works by six contemporary artists, and 'The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography,' showcasing five pioneering Korean art photographers. The museum will eventually become part of an eight-branch network run by SeMA.
This development matters because it establishes a dedicated institutional home for photography in South Korea, a medium that has long been underserved by public museums in the country. By positioning Photo-SeMA as a 'cultural anchor' for the northeastern Seoul region, SeMA aims to elevate Korean photography both domestically and internationally. The museum's integration into a broader city-level network and its connection to the Seoul Mediacity Biennale further strengthen Seoul's growing reputation as a hub for contemporary art and media in Asia.