Today I visited ARARIO Museum – In Space. The name is a bit confusing, as it is actually in Seoul. The “In Space” comes from the fact that they took an abandoned office building and filled it with incredible modern art. Last time I was in Korea, I visited their three galleries in Jeju, and those were really impressive, so I wanted to see this one too.

There is so much good art there that I couldn’t let this go unshared. See this blogpost collection of the best things I saw while I was there.

The Building

The most interesting part of this museum is the building itself. They intentionally left it mostly unrenovated and kept the exposed brick, tight hallways, and illogical room layout, and used it to their advantage. The space makes the art for me. Check out this promotional video for a better idea.

The Collection

The collection was expertly curated. There were many different types of pieces, grouped together in a way that suited them best.

Nam June Paik

They had a whole room of Nam June Paik's pieces. I only took pictures of two of them. Pictures don’t really do it justice, as the moving video is the most interesting part.

Dongwook Lee Gallery

They had a whole room with small pieces by Dongwook Lee (not the actor). He makes tiny sculptures of humans in awkward situations. It was fascinating to see the details in these pieces.

Going Upstairs

The exhibition continued upstairs.

Tatsuo Miyajima makes a lot of work like this. I saw him again on 2025-11-20 and 2025-11-30 and recognized him immediately.

Museum in Museum

There was another interesting collection by a Chinese artist called Li Qing. They recreated a house inside the museum with many different rooms. Each room was styled as a realistic room one might find in a house. Each room was meant to represent a moment in someone’s life. It was such a good fit for a museum like this.

The Masterpiece

This giant taxidermied deer, encased with resin and glass balls, is made by Kohei Nawa and is the masterpiece of the collection. At least, that is what they want you to believe. It is in most of their promotional material, and it is located at the very end of the gallery.

I must admit, it is really impressive and a great centerpiece, but personally I wouldn’t call it the best. It is hard to compete with art by Nam June Paik.

The Outside

The outside of the building is stunning too. There is a Korean-style tea house next to a giant modernist building with glass walls housing three different expensive restaurants (great for impressing future business partners or wealthy donors).

Conclusion

The ARARIO Museum – In Space was my favorite modern art museum I visited while I was in Seoul. The blending of the architecture with the bold art is a treat. While writing this blogpost, I remembered pieces of art I didn’t manage to take a picture of, like the other pieces by Nam June Paik, the rest of the character collection, and a video of a guy covered in shit showering.

If you are ever in Seoul, I totally recommend you go and visit!

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