7 Best Museums in Jeju Island, Korea, with Stunning Architecture

Jeju Island offers numerous places where you can appreciate architecture, art, and nature at a glance. Visit these museums to enjoy the stunning scenery of Jeju while appreciating various beautiful works of art.

1. Bonte Museum

69 Sallongnam-ro 762beon-gil, Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

The Bonte Museum, a work by the world-renowned architect Tadao Ando, showcases an outstanding harmony of exposed concrete, light, and water. It is known for its grand use of exposed concrete. The serene passage spaces, inspired by Korean alleys and streams, are also impressive. The museum consists of five exhibition halls, featuring masterpieces by global art giants such as Picasso, Dalí, Nam June Paik, Yayoi Kusama, and Andy Warhol, as well as traditional Korean crafts that epitomize the essence of Korean heritage.

2. Yumin Art Nouveau Collection

107, Seopjikoji-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

Another architectural work by Tadao Ando demonstrates that everything nature possesses can become building materials, and by using these materials, humans can become closer to nature through architecture. The Yumin Art Nouveau Collection in Jeju Island is an example where materials born and raised in Jeju, combined with reinforced concrete, the most widely used material in modern society, were used to create innovative architecture through the combination of polar opposite materials. It is situated low to the ground as if hidden in the earth, allowing a view of the Seopjikoji landscape. The museum permanently exhibits European Art Nouveau glass art.

3. Museum of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui

44, Chusa-ro, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

Korean Architect Seung Hyo-Sang completed an art museum based on Chusa Kim Jeong-hui’s ‘Sehando’ at his place of exile. The entire structure consists of a single wooden building with a roof over its head, and the main space is hidden underground. The humble building offers a glimpse into Chusa’s life. Chusa was a prominent calligrapher, epigraphist, historian, painter, and scholar of the late Joseon period. The museum, established in May 2010, honors the life, scholarship, and artistic world of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui, a great scholar and artist of late Joseon.

4. Water Wind Stone Museum

79, Sallongnam-ro 762beon-gil, Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

The Water Wind Stone Museum features exhibition halls themed around water, wind, and stone, which symbolize Jeju. However, it is not a typical exhibition space; the architecture itself is the artwork. The museum is designed to induce meditation and contemplation in visitors. World-renowned architect Jun Itami (a Korean architect from Japan) built the museum embodying his unique philosophy of naturalism. Instead of standing out from the surrounding landscape or showcasing architectural grandeur, it stays true to allowing visitors to feel and experience nature. This enables visitors to calmly reflect on their inner selves. The museum can only be visited by reservation, with entry limited to 20 people per time slot. If you wish to visit, it is recommended to book one or two months in advance.

5. Gidang Art Museum

15, Namseongjung-ro 153beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

The Gidang Art Museum was established by Kang Ku-beom, a Korean-Japanese businessman originally from Jeju Island, and donated to Seogwipo City. It opened in July 1987. Architect Kim Hong-sik designed the museum with a spiral layout, inspired by the stacked grain piles found in Jeju’s rural areas. The museum features a rafter ceiling reminiscent of traditional Korean houses and is designed to allow appropriate natural light to create a pleasant exhibition space.

6. Wal Chong Art Museum

30, Chilsimni-ro 214beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

This is an art museum and studio that embodies the artistic worldview of painter Lee Wal Chong, who modernized traditional ink and color paintings. The painter himself conceptualized the architecture using ceramics, and Swiss architect David Macculo designed it to allow natural light and wind to flow through.

7. Kim Tschang Yeul Museum

883-5, Yonggeum-ro, Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

This is the museum of artist Kim Tschang-yeul, widely known as the “Water Drop Painter.” The museum was established in 2016 in the Jeoji Artists’ Village. Kim Tschang-yeul donated 220 major works for the creation of the museum. Designed by architect Hong Jae-seung, the exterior of the museum consists of eight massive cube-shaped buildings surrounding a central courtyard, as seen from above. This architectural design expresses the artist’s philosophy of return. Visitors can walk around the square exhibition rooms, go up to the second floor through the courtyard in the lobby, and exit the museum. Following this path, visitors encounter Kim Tschang-yeul’s water drop paintings and installations, gaining an understanding of the artist’s world of art.

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