A Space for a New Korea
Updated: Oct 1
Writer: Jaeah Kim
Name of building: Arario Museum in Space
Architect/Designer: Kim Swoo-geun
Date/year: Built between 1971 and 1977, was named Arario Museum in 2014
Materials: Dark bricks, ivy, concrete, glass
Location: 83 Yulgok-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Let’s take a trip back to the 1980s. It’s late night, and you’re walking through the narrow street of Yulgok-ro. Traditional houses, giwa roofs, and brick walls surround you. Then you finally arrive at a massive building made up of red stone bricks and covered by ivy. You’re here. You enter and head down to the basement. There they are –artists, architects, and musicians. They’re huddled together singing, drawing, debating, striving for an opportunity to express themselves.
Now let’s travel back to the modern days. The building itself remains similar. Yet inside is an exhibition called Folding Screens with tourists and visitors walking around the complex building.
This building is one that began from an artistic sanctuary to one that holds modern exhibitions – the Arario Museum in Space.
The Arario Museum in Space was originally called the Space Group of Korea Building. It was designed by Kim Swoo-geun –one of Korea’s most prominent architects– and constructed from 1971 to 1977. The building served as headquarters for his architectural firm – the Space Group. It was also a meeting place for Korea’s contemporary and experimental musicians, architects, artists, and writers. It was a sanctuary to freely express themselves during a period of rapid social and cultural change in Korea.
The turning point came in 2013 when the Space Group faced bankruptcy. Kim-Chang-il –a mega rich entrepreneur– purchased the building to preserve its heritage. It was then reopened in 2014 with a new name – the Arario Museum in Space. Now it serves as a gallery for modern and traditional artists of Korea.
The building is built mainly with dark bricks, ivy, concrete, and glass. The clay bricks used for its outer walls are a tribute to jeondol –traditional red clay bricks used in the Joseon Dynasty. Green ivy almost entirely covers the frontal outer walls as well giving the building light, color, and depth.
The building uses a technique called “skip-floor” which has overlapping levels making boundaries between floors unclear. “Womb space” also creates seemingly endless and maze-like corridors within the building giving it an enclosed yet protective aspect.
For me, I think the building is significant in many ways.
To begin with, when I first looked at this building on the internet I was captivated by the combination of traditional and contemporary materials used: red bricks and ivy combined with bright lights, glass, and steel. These materials are quite contrasting, yet somehow seem to blend together naturally. To me it seemed like the ivy was tying together Korea’s past –red bricks– and present –glass.
The second reason is its historical significance. Yes, of course it is in fact 60 years old. But it was also a shelter for contemporary artists in the 1970s who had very little financial support at that time. The small underground stage inside the complex called SPACE Love became the birthplace of traditional samulnori and avant-garde performances. The SPACE gallery established in the basement in 1972 stored many foundational art pieces serving as the primary record and distributor of Korean culture.
And now it not only preserves tradition but also supports new experimental forms of art as well – a spectacular transition.
All in all, the Arario Museum of Space represents a steady transition to contemporary art while preserving its traditional aspects through its artworks and the building itself. Ultimately, it is where Korea’s past, present, and future collides as one. I truly hope this building can remain well preserved and continue to help spread artists’ dreams in the future as well.
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