Bunker-like SOMA features modern and contemporary art in six galleries. Most are special paid exhibitions, covering both local and big-name international artists such as Frida Kahlo. Also check out the permanent video-art installations by Nam June Paik, and over 200 quirky sculptures scattered like buckshot around the park.
SOMA
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
8.87 MILES
Like a phoenix, Seoul’s premier palace has risen several times from the ashes of destruction. Hordes of tourists have replaced the thousands of government…
8.23 MILES
The World Heritage–listed Changdeokgung is the most beautiful of Seoul's five main palaces. You must join a one-hour guided tour to look around. English…
6.68 MILES
Amid the celebrity-owned apartments on the leafy southern slope of Namsan is Korea's premier art gallery. Beautifully designed and laid-out, it balances…
17.4 MILES
The World Heritage–listed fortress wall that encloses the original town of Suwon is what brings most travellers to the city. Snaking up and down Paldal…
8.58 MILES
One of Seoul's five grand palaces built during the Joseon dynasty, Deoksugung (meaning Palace of Virtuous Longevity) is the only one you can visit in the…
7.63 MILES
This vast and imposing concrete slab of a museum takes visitors on a fascinating journey through Korea's past from prehistory all the way to the Korean…
13.63 MILES
Granite-peak-studded Bukhansan National Park's sweeping mountaintop vistas, maple leaves, rushing streams and remote temples draw over 5 million hikers…
7.89 MILES
This huge museum documents the history of the Korean War (1950–53) using multimedia exhibits and black-and-white documentary footage, along with artefacts…
Nearby Gangnam & Southern Seoul attractions
0.21 MILES
Standing at the main entrance to Olympic Park is the colossal World Peace Gate, with its striking winged arches designed by Kim Jung-up for the 1988…
0.23 MILES
Olympic Park’s Seoul Baekje Museum illuminates the history and culture of Hanseong (18 BC–AD 475), when this part of Seoul was the capital of the Baekje…
0.3 MILES
Seoul's Olympic Museum has been completely updated as an interactive museum to not only show highlights of the 1988 Olympics but also the thrills of the…
0.34 MILES
This large and pleasant park was the focus of the 1988 Olympics. Strolling its paths takes you past its stadiums surrounded by plenty of greenery, ponds…
0.58 MILES
Mongchon Museum has some precious golden relics of the Baekje kings, a seven-pronged sword and the usual dull pots. The history of human settlement here…
0.81 MILES
Completed in early 2017, Seoul's latest landmark is the 555m-high Lotte World Tower – the tallest skyscraper in Korea (and sixth highest in the world)…
7. Lotte World Adventure & Magic Island
1.12 MILES
Lotte World Adventure & Magic Island is a mainly indoor Korean version of Disneyland, complete with ‘flying’ balloons, 3D films, laser and music shows,…
1.13 MILES
The Folk Museum at Lotte World uses imaginative techniques like dioramas, scale models and moving waxworks to bring scenes from Korean history to life…