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Guide · National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea · 9 min read

MMCA's four venues: which one to visit and what each costs

MMCA Seoul, Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju compared for visitors who do not read Korean: what each venue shows, admission and free hours, closing days, the nearest subway exit or shuttle, and how timed tickets for popular shows work.

Kang Shin-wookUpdated 22 September 2026Editorial policy

In short

  • The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (국립현대미술관, MMCA) is one museum on four sites. With one afternoon in Seoul, choose MMCA Seoul next to Gyeongbokgung: the biggest programme, late nights on Wednesday and Saturday, and free entry from 18:00 on those nights.
  • MMCA Deoksugung is the small palace branch for early twentieth-century Korean art. The museum ticket does not include the palace gate, which costs adults 1,000 won.
  • MMCA Gwacheon is the out-of-town site with the sculpture park and the Children's Museum. All exhibitions cost 3,000 won and a free shuttle runs from the subway.
  • MMCA Cheongju is the storage-and-conservation branch south of Seoul. The open storage floors are free; only the fifth-floor special exhibition charges 2,000 won.
  • Visitors under 24 or over 65 enter every venue free with ID, and all four are free on the last Wednesday of the month. Facts below were checked 22 September 2026 against the museum's English pages.

What is each venue for?

MMCA Seoul (30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu) stands on the east side of Gyeongbokgung and calls itself the venue for "city, history and contemporary arts". It hosts the large international and Korean contemporary shows, including the ones that need timed tickets. In autumn 2026 the headline is the Do Ho Suh survey (27 August 2026 to 9 February 2027).

MMCA Gwacheon (313 Gwangmyeong-ro, Gwacheon) is the original building in Seoul Grand Park, south of the city. The museum describes it as its children- and family-oriented, nature-inspired site: it holds the Children's Museum, the outdoor sculpture park and shows that lean toward architecture, design and crafts. Allow a half day including travel.

MMCA Deoksugung (99 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu) sits inside Deoksugung Palace opposite City Hall, a "modern and contemporary art museum in a palace" whose exhibitions concentrate on Korean painting and sculpture of the early modern period; the current one is a Lee Daiwon show running to 8 November 2026. It is compact and pairs well with a walk through the palace.

MMCA Cheongju (314 Sangdang-ro, Cheongju) opened in December 2018 as the collection storage and conservation centre. Floors one to four are open storage, so you walk past racks of works not on show elsewhere, with conservation laboratories behind glass; the fifth floor is a special exhibition gallery. It is a specialist trip, not a first stop.

Which venue costs what?

VenueWhat it is forAdmission (adult)ClosedNearest station
SeoulContemporary and international shows, timed-ticket blockbustersPer exhibition; All Pass 10,000 won when three or more paid shows run; free Wed and Sat 18:00–21:001 January, Lunar New Year's Day, Chuseok (open Mondays)Anguk, Line 3, Exit 1
GwacheonSculpture park, Children's Museum, architecture and design3,000 won for all exhibitionsEvery Monday, 1 JanuarySeoul Grand Park, Line 4, Exit 2 (shuttle from Exit 4)
DeoksugungEarly modern Korean art inside a palacePer exhibition, plus 1,000 won palace gate; free Wed and Sat 18:00–21:00Every Monday, 1 JanuaryCity Hall, Lines 1 and 2, Exit 1
CheongjuOpen storage and conservationStorage floors free; 5F special exhibition 2,000 wonEvery Monday, 1 JanuaryOsong (KTX/SRT), then city bus

Two prices surprise visitors. Seoul's All Pass covers every paid show for 10,000 won but is sold only when three or more paid exhibitions are on; otherwise you buy per exhibition at the price on that show's page. At Deoksugung the museum's own price varies by exhibition, and the palace admission, set by the Korea Heritage Service at 1,000 won for adults aged 19 to 64 (800 won in groups of ten or more), is charged separately at the gate.

Free entry is broad. At every site, visitors under 24 or over 65 and undergraduate students enter free with ID, as do donor, ICOM and CIMAM card holders. The last Wednesday of each month is Culture Day, when all four venues and the palace are free. The palace gate is also free for anyone 18 and under, 65 and over, or wearing hanbok. Since September 2026, registered members of the museum website, free membership included, get 10 per cent off paid exhibitions booked online. Even on free days a ticket is still issued, online or at the desk.

When is each venue open, and which nights are late?

Seoul and Deoksugung open 10:00 to 18:00 and until 21:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays; the 18:00 to 21:00 slot on those nights is free at both. Gwacheon and Cheongju keep 10:00 to 18:00 with no late night; Cheongju's last admission is 17:00 and Gwacheon's Children's Museum closes at 17:30.

Closing days are the trap. Seoul is the only branch open on Mondays; it closes on 1 January, Lunar New Year's Day and Chuseok Day instead. Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju close every Monday and on 1 January, and stay open on the lunar holidays. When a public holiday falls on a Monday, the museum's regulations move the closure to the first ordinary day afterwards. The 2026 Chuseok notice shows the result: Seoul is closed on Chuseok Day, Friday 25 September, while the other three are open all four holiday days, and admission is free everywhere from 24 to 27 September.

Deoksugung Palace itself opens 09:00 to 21:00 with last entry at 20:00 and closes on Mondays, so the gate shuts an hour before the galleries on late nights.

How do you get to each one from central Seoul?

Seoul: from Anguk Station (Line 3) Exit 1, walk straight about 500 m to the Dongsipja intersection and another 500 m along the palace wall. Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) Exit 6 and Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5) Exit 2 are similar walks.

Deoksugung: City Hall Station (Lines 1 and 2) Exit 1 is about 290 m, or four minutes, from the palace gate; the museum is inside the grounds. Seodaemun Station (Line 5) Exit 5 is a 600 m alternative.

Gwacheon: take Line 4 to Seoul Grand Park Station. From Exit 2 it is a 20-minute walk past the zoo entrance, or ride the elephant train. Easier is the free Art Shuttle from Exit 4 (turn left, 30 m), every 20 minutes between 09:40 and 17:00.

Cheongju: take KTX or SRT to Osong Station, then bus 511, 517, 511-1 or 747. From Cheongju Express Bus Terminal, buses 921, 922, 111, 112, 113, 116, 118, 211, 511 and 511-1 pass the museum. Allow a full day.

What is available in English?

The museum's free "MMCA" mobile app carries the audio guide in Korean or English at all four venues; it needs Bluetooth on and detects which building you are in. Free English guided tours run at Seoul only, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, currently at 13:30 for the Do Ho Suh show (15 places) and 14:30 for "This is (Not) Conceptual Art"; each lasts about 40 minutes, is first come first served, and skips national holidays.

How do timed tickets for popular shows work?

Blockbusters at Seoul sell timed entry. The Do Ho Suh notice sets out the mechanism: an online allocation is released in batches on announced dates and times (the early-bird block sold out through 13 September; the next release opened at 18:00 on 7 September), and once a batch is gone the online calendar reopens only when someone cancels. A separate pool of same-day tickets is kept for the on-site desk, sold per time slot in order of arrival; you cannot pick a slot in advance at the desk, popular slots close early, and weekend queues can be long. "Sold out online" therefore does not mean sold out, but the museum strongly advises booking online: log in on the English site, choose the exhibition, pay, and enter with the mobile QR code.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see all four venues on one ticket? No. Each venue sells its own tickets, and Seoul's All Pass covers only that building's paid shows, only when three or more are on. For a short visit the age concessions, Culture Day and the free late nights are the useful savings.

Is Monday a safe day to visit? Only at Seoul, which opens on Mondays and closes on 1 January, Lunar New Year's Day and Chuseok instead. Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju close every Monday; when that Monday is a public holiday they open and close on the next ordinary day, as the 2026 Chuseok schedule shows.

Do I pay for the palace if I only want the museum at Deoksugung? Yes. You pass through the palace gate, which charges adults 1,000 won; visitors 18 and under, 65 and over, anyone in hanbok, and everyone on the last Wednesday of the month pass free. The museum ticket is extra and priced per exhibition, except that Wednesday and Saturday evenings from 18:00 are free.

Is the Gwacheon shuttle free, and how often does it run? Yes. The Art Shuttle leaves from 30 m to the left of Exit 4 at Seoul Grand Park Station every 20 minutes from 09:40 to 17:00.

Do the free evenings at Seoul include timed-ticket shows? The museum's pages state that the 18:00 to 21:00 late opening on Wednesdays and Saturdays is free, but a ticket is still required and blockbusters are entered by time slot. Check that show's page on the English site for its evening rules before relying on it.

Sources

Last updated 2026-09-22