Jejehaap Architects' design selected for new museum to house late Samsung chair's donated artworks

Jejehaap Architects was announced Friday as the winning architecture studio to helm the upcoming Lee Kun-hee Museum in Songhyeon-dong in Jongno District, central Seoul.

From July to earlier this month, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held an international design competition inviting licensed architects to submit their design proposals for the museum.

Jejehaap’s submission, “Recovery of Time” (translated), was selected among the works of 67 teams. The winning piece was "unanimously" chosen by the judging panel of architectural experts due to its use of the pine tree, considered a symbol of Korea.

“Recovery of Time” has implemented a courtyard among three buildings comprising five permanent exhibition spaces and one special exhibition space.

The Lee Kun-hee Museum is a government-led project launched three years ago to establish a hall to exhibit and manage all 23,181 artworks and National Treasures that the late Samsung chairman donated to the country.  

They have been distributed to and are currently organized by the National Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and other municipal museums, such as in Gwangju and Daegu. However, the government plans to collect and display them in the new museum.

The museum's name has not been finalized. Until now, the Culture Ministry has tentatively called it the Lee Kun-hee Museum, but it is now referred to in Korean as the Songhyeon-dong National Cultural Facility.

The museum is set to open in 2028.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]