Birth of Modern Art: 85 Kunsthaus Zürich works in Seoul, Nov. 27–Apr. 18
Eighty-five paintings and sculptures from Switzerland’s Kunsthaus Zürich go on view at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul’s Yongsan district on November 27, including works by Monet, Picasso, Kandinsky and Giacometti. Early-bird tickets are on sale for 12,000 won.
The exhibition
The National Museum of Korea is co-organizing “The Birth of Modern Art – Masterpieces from the Kunsthaus Zürich” with Kunsthaus Zürich and the Seoul Shinmun. It runs 143 days, from Friday, November 27, 2026, to Sunday, April 18, 2027, in Special Exhibition Gallery 1.
The 85 paintings and sculptures trace European art from the 18th to the 20th century. The museum said the show includes Monet, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, Brancusi, Kandinsky, Magritte and Dalí, along with Swiss-born artists such as Hodler, Klee, Taeuber-Arp and Giacometti. A list of works has not been released.
Early-bird tickets
Early-bird tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. KST on October 13 through Ticketlink and Naver Booking as a single 12,000-won ticket type. They cover visits from opening day through Thursday, December 17. The museum’s notice gives the end year as 2025, apparently a typo for 2026. Wednesday sessions after 6 p.m. and December 7 are excluded.
Up to four tickets can be booked per order, and bookings can be canceled until 11:59 p.m. the day before the visit. Mobile tickets will be sent by KakaoTalk on November 25. Regular prices have not been announced; the museum said children and seniors may pay less with individually discounted regular tickets.
Hours and opening talk
Entry is by 30-minute timed sessions. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (last entry 4:50 p.m.) on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. (last entry 8:20 p.m.) on Wednesday and Saturday. The exhibition is closed December 7, 2026, and January 1, February 7 (Seollal) and March 1, 2027.
On opening day, November 27, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Maja Wismer of Kunsthaus Zürich will speak on Swiss art and European modernism in the museum’s lecture room. No booking is required; seating is first come, first served.
Getting there
The museum is at 137 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan-gu. From Ichon Station (Line 4 and the Gyeongui–Jungang Line), the “Museum Nadeulgil” underpass toward Exit 2 leads to the museum’s west gate and is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The permanent galleries are free, but this special exhibition requires a ticket. The lead photo shows the museum building in 2019, not the exhibition or its works. The second photo shows Kunsthaus Zürich’s new building, the lending museum, near completion in 2019.
EXHIBITION INFO
LOCATION
Source National Museum of Korea Checked 2026.10.14 22:10
Sources & context
2026-10-14T13:16:49.875Z
National Museum of Korea · upcoming special exhibition notice ↗National Museum of Korea · directions by subway ↗National Museum of Korea · visitor information ↗Ethan Doyle White / Wikimedia Commons · museum exterior photo and licence ↗Albinfo / Wikimedia Commons · Kunsthaus Zürich new building photo (CC0) ↗Exterior of the National Museum of Korea, photographed by Ethan Doyle White in November 2019. Archival photo; it does not show this exhibition or its works. Photo: Ethan Doyle White / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. Proportionally resized to 2000px wide and re-saved as JPEG; no crop or retouching.
Photo credit
Albinfo / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0The new building of Kunsthaus Zürich in Switzerland, shortly before completion in November 2019. Archival photo; not the Seoul exhibition or its works. Photo: Albinfo / Wikimedia Commons / CC0. Resized to 2000px wide.