Leeum Museum and Passion 5
Leeum Museum and Passion 5
In 2014 this museum celebrated their 10th anniversary, being a museum of international and Korean art, as much as a cultural center.
The name “Leeum” comes from the family name “Lee” of its founder and the end “um” of the word “museum”.
The Leeum has two museums, one of which for Korean traditional art and the other one for exhibit works of art by Korean and international contemporary artists.
The Museum also has the Samsung Child Education and Culture Center, which contributes to the education of future leaders.
The project of the building of Leeum combines the past, present and future of art and culture, which is also what the museum itself looks for – always aiming for new ideas, innovation and creativity.
They analyze and choose international contemporary artwork that reflect new social values and Korean contemporary art that would reflect current trend of the country and culture.
The idea is also to make a bridge that connects Korean and International art, making them available to the public in a related way.
For their 10th anniversary, they prepared a special exhibition called “Beyond and Between”, with a mix of everything that was exposed since they opened.
Therefore, you can catch up with Korean traditional and modern art, as well as paintings, pictures, installations of all kinds from all over the world.
It is for sure a nice experience, once you get to have a taste of art in different perspectives from different times and spaces at the same museum.
The entrance fee may vary, but for this exhibit it costed 10,000 WON (about 10 dollars) to get in all museums.
Leeum is located in a nice area, Hannam-dong. You can check it out from 10:30 to 18:00 (last admission at 17:30), Tuesday to Sunday. There are guided tours in English only on weekends at 14:00.
The closest subway station to get there is Hangangjin Station (Subway Line 6), exit 1 – walk straight towards Itaewon, than make a right turn at the first alley, walk up the hill for about 5 minutes.
Address: 60-16 Itaewon-ro 55 gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Their website: http://leeum.samsungfoundation.org/
Since you are there, you might check out on your way in or your way out, the Passion 5 bakery experience.
This is located right int the street of the subway, so you can’t miss it.
It is a mix of cafe, bakery, gallery(of food) and dessert place. It has a diverse selection of delicious breads, cakes, chocolates and puddings.
The name Passion 5 comes from the combination of 5 elements: patisserie, bakery, chocolates, cafe and the passion for them.
The thing is on weekends it is packed with people and you probably will have to stand in line to get some sweets.
Besides, this might be a little pricey, so save it for a special occasion!
It is open everyday, from 7:30am to 10pm, located 2 minutes away from exit 3 of Hangangjin Station.
They don’t allow pictures, but I managed to take some secretly:
Address: 272, Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
