Seoul Art Exhibitions in November 2026: Dates and Tickets

Which Seoul art exhibitions are open right now?

The Seoul art exhibitions already open in November 2026 are Do Ho Suh and Korea Artist Prize 2026 at MMCA Seoul, Wayne Thiebaud at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), two shows at Leeum Museum of Art and a free Oh Yoon retrospective at the Seoul Art Archive. As of Sunday, November 1, all of them are open, and most run into early 2027.

According to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), the Do Ho Suh survey opened on August 27 and runs through February 9, 2027. Suh is best known for full-scale versions of the homes he has lived in, sewn from translucent fabric. This show adds early works and drawings that have never been exhibited before. In the same building, Korea Artist Prize 2026 presents about 100 new works by four artists, Lee Haeminseon, Lee Jeongwoo, Jeon Hyunseon and Hong Jinhwon, through December 6. The prize, co-run by MMCA and the SBS Foundation since 2012, is Korea's closest equivalent to Britain's Turner Prize.

According to the arts outlet Daily Art, the Thiebaud show is the American painter's first major retrospective in Korea, with 105 works ranging from a 1947 self-portrait to his final painting from 2021. His glossy cakes and pie counters are the crowd favorites. The show is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with last entry at 7 p.m., so it works well after office hours.

Which exhibitions close in November?

The major museum show closing this month is Leeum's "Inside Other Spaces: Women Artists' Synesthetic Environments, 1956–1976." Its last day is November 29, and since Leeum is closed on Mondays, the final weekend is November 28–29.

The exhibition rebuilds, at full scale, immersive environments made by 11 women artists between 1956 and 1976. An environment in this sense is an installation that visitors walk into, experiencing light, color and sound with their whole body. Participants include Judy Chicago, Lygia Clark and the Korean artist Chung Kang-ja. Photos do little justice to work you are meant to stand inside, so this one is worth the trip.

Korea Artist Prize 2026 closes on December 6, which makes November the last relaxed month to see it. MMCA Seoul will also be closed for one day on Tuesday, December 1.

Two blockbusters opening in late November: Chagall and Kunsthaus Zürich

Late November brings two large loan exhibitions from European museums, opening three days apart: "Chagall, Ever Crossing" at Centre Pompidou Hanwha in Yeouido on November 24, and "The Birth of Modern Art: Masterpieces from the Kunsthaus Zürich" at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan on November 27.

According to the Korean daily Asia Economy, the Chagall show draws on the Centre Pompidou collection in Paris and brings 65 paintings, sculptures and ceramics made between the 1900s and the 1970s. It runs through March 28, 2027. The Seoul Shinmun reports that the National Museum of Korea will show 85 works spanning about 200 years of European art, from the 1760s to the 1950s, all on view in Korea for the first time. Names include Monet, Kandinsky, Giacometti, Munch, Picasso and Klee.

The Kunsthaus Zürich show uses 30-minute timed entry, and its early-bird tickets have already sold out. If you want a weekend slot, book as soon as general sales open on November 6 through Ticketlink, Naver or Kakao.

How can you save on tickets?

MMCA Seoul is free on Wednesday and Saturday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. and all day on November 25, the last Wednesday of the month, which Korea designates as "Culture Day." According to MMCA's visitor guide, visitors aged 24 or younger and 65 or older also get in free.

The Oh Yoon exhibition at the Seoul Art Archive is free for everyone. It marks 40 years since the death of Oh Yoon, the woodblock printmaker most associated with Korea's 1980s Minjung (people's art) movement, and shows 31 prints alongside about 300 printing blocks, studies and drawings. It stays open until 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. At DDP, paying with a Hyundai Card cuts the Thiebaud adult ticket by 20 percent, to 18,400 won.

How to plan a museum day in Seoul

Grouping museums by neighborhood makes two or three shows in one day easy.

• Jongno and Samcheong-dong: MMCA Seoul (Do Ho Suh, Korea Artist Prize). The Seoul Art Archive in Pyeongchang-dong is roughly 20 minutes away by bus.
• Yongsan: Leeum (Hangangjin Station), the National Museum of Korea (from November 27) and the Amorepacific Museum of Art, which has a Sol LeWitt show, fit into one route.
• Dongdaemun and Yeouido: DDP stays open until 8 p.m., good for a weekday evening, and Centre Pompidou Hanwha pairs well with a Yeouido outing after November 24.

If you have time outside Seoul, MMCA Gwacheon opens "Georgia O'Keeffe and American Modern Art" on November 12. For festivals and trips beyond the museums, see our regional guide to traveling Korea in November and December.

Gist7's take: why this November is so crowded

This November puts major Korean solo shows and imported European masterpieces in the same month. The Do Ho Suh and Oh Yoon exhibitions run well into 2027, while the Chagall and Kunsthaus Zürich shows are likely to see a booking rush right after opening. The early-bird sellout at the National Museum of Korea already points that way.

Our suggested order: in early and mid-November, see the Leeum show before it closes and the long-running Korean exhibitions, then save the European blockbusters for a weekday in December, after the opening-weekend crowds. Among commercial galleries, Pace Seoul opens a Pam Evelyn show on November 5 and Kukje Gallery has announced a Jenny Holzer exhibition for the end of the year, but check the galleries' own listings for final dates. Prices in dollars are approximate, based on late-October 2026 exchange rates.