Museum SAN, Wonju
- Tizzy
- 16 Okt 2021
- 4 menit membaca
This is a reposted article written by Tizzy, an Indonesian who lived in Seoul as a Korean lifestyle blogger. This article was first published in KoreabyMe in 2020.
Museum SAN (Space, Art, Nature) in Wonju City, South Korea, is a unique museum that has indoor galleries and also outdoor displays that utilize its beautiful surrounding nature. This museum, which opened its door in 2013, was designed by a famous Japanese architect, Tadao Ando. Museum SAN was also named one of the 100 Must-Visit Tourist Spots in Korea for the third year in a row by the Korea Tourism Organization last year (2019).
From my personal experience, having two times visiting this place, my favorite parts of the museum are the 3 gardens: the Flower Garden, the Water Garden, and the Stone Garden. Trust me, you should spend the most time in those three gardens, and take a boatload of pictures!
The first garden is called Flower Garden and that was supposed to be a field of China Pink flowers. However, summer was not the blooming season. So, it was just a plain dry green field. I just took one picture with the plant wall and skipped ahead to the end of the garden, where the famous archway was.
I did, however, visited this museum last year in the fall season. It was much prettier because the pink flower was blooming, and this wall of the plant was different in autumn colors. I got all shades of the leaves and it was stunning. If you are interested to see the pictures and my first impression of the museum, check out these Instagram posts of mine (@tizzy).
If you walk past the park, you will then reach the end of the garden and find an entrance to the Water Garden, which is a big red archway. This spot is always crowded as it is an entrance and everybody wants to take pictures under it. Last year was my worst luck, as it was too crowded that I didn’t manage to take any pictures without people photobombing my shot. But this year I got lucky. It was reasonably empty so I can take the picture from several angles.
My tip is, don’t get the touristy shot right under it, try a different angle that not everybody has the different shot as yours!
The red archway itself is an outdoor sculpture designed by Alexander Liberman and, serving as the entrance to the Water Garden and the main museum building. It is actually the most iconic piece of Museum SAN.
The second garden is the Water Garden and this is the best part of the museum! The main building, where the galleries are, is surrounded by decorative pools as a part of the art of the museum. The calm and clear surface of the water creates a mesmerizing display reflecting the surroundings, and the building looks as if it’s floating on the water.
Honestly, the water pool works really well as a reflector. When the air is calm (no wind), it will reflect the view perfectly. And then when the wind blows, it doesn’t mean it became imperfect. It just became more beautiful in a different way!
It is also a good idea to enjoy the Water Garden from above the main building. I took so many nice pictures from this building's upstair's spot. But it was actually confusing to find this spot because the building was designed as sort of a maze.
But, if you have time, you definitely should visit the gallery inside the main building too. There are not only paintings, but also some other forms of art too such as paper art, retro tree, and unique furniture on display. But I must warn you, spare some downtime because you might want to just follow the maze path of this building.
During our visit, my friend and I were rushing here and there because we must keep up with the meditation schedule that we booked before. And guess what? We ended up getting lost, LOL. So trust me, if you want to just enjoy everything you came across there, go slowly.
Finally, if you go to the other side of the main building, you will come out to the last garden of the museum: the Stone Garden.
This Stone Garden consists of mounds inspired by ancient Korean royal tombs. The curved stroll through the stone mounds really creates a peaceful-looking art. If you go to your right instead of walking through the path, then, you will find a bigger mound with a dome interior for the meditation program.
Remember to book a schedule at the welcome center before coming down there. I was lucky to have a chance to experience the meditation, and I could say I was so relaxed and able to calm my tense nerves. Yes, I was lucky to be able to experience healing through self-discovery meditation which rediscovers the energy to live. And it was all done under the peaceful, simple, geometrical dome.
When the meditation is finished, warm hibiscus tea with a sour flavor is served. The dome itself is surrounded by beautiful scenery and the lively sound from nature fills up the space. This is to open up the senses before meditation and refresh the relaxed mind after meditation.
Lastly, if you go through the curved path of the Stone Garden, you will find the gallery of James Turrell’s artworks, which he famous for working with the beauty of light and the sense of infinite space. Sadly, I did not get a chance to enjoy the gallery due to my meditation schedule. Hopefully, I can visit this museum again someday and give you a full review of it. Or, perhaps, you can visit it yourself?
Cover photo by Museum SAN on Wikipedia. The picture is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
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