Top museums in Seoul — Top 7 best fun, unique, weird & cool museums in Seoul

In Clay Studio is not only a store where you can purchase exquisite pottery souvenirs for fans of handmade ceramics, but it is also a place where you can learn and start making your own pottery. The people that work here are really passionate and kind. The environment at In Clay Studio, along with the business owner’s chosen music, will remind you of a lot of inspiration; the breezy atmosphere will help you forget the days and hours and become engrossed in creative. If you get the opportunity to visit In Clay Studio, hand-mould a piece of pottery to take home and show the world.

 

 

 

* A bit of note: There are some museums that may be quite “sensitive” in the list, you should consider. However, you can “boldly” visit once will also be the unforgettable travel experience of yourself.

Seoul Animation Center & Cartoon Museum

As Korea’s first center / museum specialized on cartoon characters, the Seoul Animation Center & Cartoon Museum is really a cartoon lover’s heaven for many families with small children, as well as adults. If you want to have a more exciting and crowded time, remember to go to the Seoul Animation Center Character Festival, which is held every year in early May. The museum is organized into many zones, each with a different theme to discover: The bottom level features featured cartoon characters such as the two adorable Larva animation characters from the extremely popular Lava cartoon movie, the warriors from the Star Wars film, and so on.

You may make your own animated figures out of paper templates that range in size from as little as your fingertips to half the size of a table, depending on your patience. Do not be concerned; even if you lack skill, you may still make wonderful items with the passionate assistance of your guides. Furthermore, there will be models integrated into the background, camera kinds, and you just utilize the cartoon characters to build your own tale based on your ideas and ingenuity.

The museum’s most popular attraction are the character models, as well as the scenes from hit films such as Batman, Mad Max, The Werewolf, etc…and a movie theater that will continuously projects featured cartoons, surely attract the attention of both adults and children.

Seoul Animation Center
Address: 8-145 Yejang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-250, South Korea
Phone: +82-2-3455-8341
Hours: 10:00am – 6:00pm. Closed on Mondays, national holidays
Admission: Free
Url: http://www.ani.seoul.kr/eng
Getting there: Myeongdong Station, Exit no.1. Go straight towards Namsan tower, the museum will be on your left.

Teddy Bear Museum

You do not have a bear (bear means your lover)? Do not worry, there are more than 400 cute bears from large size to tiny size waiting for you to visit. Unlike other museums that only displaying the bears in the glass showcases, at the Teddy Bear Museum, the bears will be placed outside the glass showcases, you can freely to touch. However, to keep the bears clean, beautiful, we should also keep a distance. The bears will be transformed into characters in the historical periods of Korea as well as in some countries around the world, you both visit and explore history in a very interesting way.

In addition to the Teddy bears, the museum also has an animal kingdom in the Teddy style, super fun.

Teddy Bear Museum
Address: 19 Jibong-ro, Changsin 1(il)-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82 2-1877-0279
Hours: 8:30AM–7PM
Entrance fee: Ticket price: 14.500 KRW, if you have a Discover Seoul Pass you will get FREE entry
Getting there: Subway Line No. 1 and 6 Dongmyo Station, Exit # 6

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art

One of Seoul’s most diverse museums, the museum is a combined exhibit of Oriental and Western, displaying from antiques to contemporary works of local and international artists. Whether you love the old or the new artworks, Leeum, the Samsung Museum of Art will meet all your needs and preference. The museum is divided into three sections, also are three different buildings, showing different artworks, the space ahead will be arranged according to each theme of each exhibition.

Saying here you must know how this area is wide and have so many things to look. This area has many angles for virtual living, bold of artistic, only need some clever poses and a bit of so deep act, you will have unforgettable photos in your life.

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art
Address: 60-16 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Opening hours: 10:30am to 6:00pm (no reservations after 5:30pm)
Admission: Ticket price: 10,000 KRW, if you have a Discover Seoul Pass you will get FREE entry.
Url: http://leeum.samsungfoundation.org/html_eng/exhibition/main.asp
Getting there: Hangangjin Station (Seoul Subway Line 6), Exit 1. Go straight 100m towards Itaewon. Turn right into the first alley (with museum signboard) then walking for 5 minutes to reach.

How to visit Seoul Animation Center / Teddy Bear Museum / Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art for FREE?

You can visit these places above without spending a cent with the Discover Seoul Pass. This card will be like a free entry card for more than 60 attractions across Seoul, not to mention it also integrated with T-Money to use public transportation.

Lock Museum

Have you ever heard of the lock museum? Just are locks but has a museum? Sounds a little weird? But, it’s true, there is a museum displaying not only 100, 1000 but up to 4000 locks, keys in Seoul. Visiting here, you will definitely be amazed by the creativity of the previous generations. Just are the locks, but the ways to make them are really sophisticated, with a variety of shapes and sizes and the structure from simple to complex that can hack your brain.

 

In addition to coming here to know the free time, style and finicky of the ancients people, each of these locks will also contains an extremely interesting stories not only in Korea, Asia but other countries around the world.

Lock Museum
Address: 100, Ihwajang-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03088, South Korea
Opening hours: 10am – 6pm from Tuesday – Sunday. Closed on Mondays.
Phone: +82-2-766-6494
Ticket price: Adult: 4.000 KWR / Youth : 3,000 / Senior : Free
Getting there: Hyehwa Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 2. Go straight 500 meters then turn left, the museum is about 100m from there.

Toilet Park & Poop Museum (Haewoojae Museum)

This museum heard the most “smell” among the museums listed above. Yes! Just listen to its name, you really known what’s on show here, right? (Wait, we know what you think but not that terrible as you imagine). This museum was originally home of Mr. Toilet, Sim Jae Deok that was built to celebrate the foundation day of the World Toilet Association (WTA). With a unique design that simulates the shape of the toilet, It is recorded in the book of Korean records as the largest toilet sculpture as well as attracts the attention of the media.

The story is that during the Olympic 2002, both South Korea and Japan together hosted this event, so to welcome many visitors come from the West, South Korea had to reform the toilets follow the Western standard, from that, it’s also began the cultural reform revolution about… the way to go toilet of this country. The biggest contributor is Sim Jae Deok, former mayor of the region and spend all his passion for improving the way people use toilets. With lots of pictures, arrangements and decorations, this exhibition area will bring the toilet to a new level. In addition to the indoor exhibits exhibiting improvements to the toilet, the museum’s open-air gallery also features a number of statues that simulates many ways on how to using the toilet of human being from far-away to now.

Haewoojae Museum (Mr. Toilet House)
Address: 463 Jangan-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon(Imok-dong), Korea 16209
Phone: +82-31-271-9777
Hours: March – October: 10am – 6pm / November – February: 10am – 5pm (the hours and entrance conditions may differ). Closed on Mondays, closing on the next day if Monday is a holiday.
Admission: FREE
Website: http://www.haewoojae.com/eng/
Getting there: Sungkyunkwan University Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 1. Then catch the bus No. 64 in front of Yuljeong-dong Catholic Church. Get off at Dongwon High School Entrance in Haewoojae Bus Stop. Turn right to Imok Sageori (about 4 intersections). Cross the road and continue walking about 700m is reach.

Love Museum

The 18+ museum only for adult, first on air at Living Nomads. Located right next to the Trick eye Museum, the Love Museum is one of museums that has the most “cool images” in the world. Visit here you will be get “full of eyes” with the statues, pictures, paintings as well as hot shot corners that make anyone will have to blush and laugh. Revealing too much will lose fun, it is best you come and experience yourself will be more honest and interesting.

Love Museum
Address: 홍익로 3길 20 서교프라자 B1 러브뮤지엄, B1 floor, Seogyo Plaza 20 Hongikro 3gil, Mapogu, Seoul, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82 2-3144-7740
Opening hours: from 9am to 9pm daily (last entry at 8pm).
Url: http://lovemuseum.co.kr/
Getting There: Take a 5-minute walk to the museum from Hongik University Station Station (Line 2, Exit 9).

Trick Eye Museum

Trick Eye Seoul Museum is a unique place for young people, especially children. The trick eye museum allows you to freely take pictures, check-in, ride, hug, or even go inside the exhibits.

 

Trick Eye is a shortened version of the word “Trick Of The Eye”. It is an English word for the Trompe-I’oeil term, which is an visual art technical that uses visual deception to make works on the plane visible in stereoscopic 3D form. Thanks to that, Trick Eye Seoul is completely different from the current art museum exhibits.

 

There are 6 areas at Trick Eye Seoul with 6 themes of interest such as fairy tales, love, wild theme, adventure … By using three space combinations of wall, ceiling and floor, they created works of art capable of deceiving the eyes – which gave birth to many beautiful and impressive photos.

Another interesting sightseeing site in the Trick Eye Seoul Museum that visitors can not miss it is the Ice Museum. At this point, the temperature is always maintained at minus 4 degrees. There are exhibits such as television, horse carts or houses, slides … And of course everything is made of ice.

Trickeye Museum Seoul
Address: #B2 Seogyo Plaza 20 Hongikro-3gil, Mapogu, Seoul
Hours: 9AM–9PM
Phone: +82 2-3144-6300
Admission: Adults 15,000 won / Children & Youth with Student ID card (age 18 and under) 12,000 won.
Url: http://trickeye.com/seoul/en