As Seoul Art Week returns this September, the capital’s museums, galleries and institutions offer a cultural programme that is as ambitious as the city itself. With a packed calendar of exhibitions, performances and installations unfolding across town, even the most seasoned fairgoers might need a moment to regroup. Here is a curated shortlist of must-sees for the week ahead, including landmark shows, rare debuts and conversations between the global and the hyperlocal.

LEE BUL, Bells from the Deep, 2014. Photo: courtesy of Leeum

Lee Bul: My Grand Narrative at Leeum Museum of Art. Until 1 January 2026

One of Korea’s most influential contemporary artists, Lee Bul presents a major survey of her boundary-pushing practice at the Leeum Museum of Art. Known for her immersive installations and speculative sculptures, this exhibition revisits three decades of work interrogating technology, modernity and the human body.

On your way out, don't miss the Gravity Stairs installation by Olafur Eliasson. It’s worth skipping the elevator to take in the enormous, schematic model of our solar system created through an arrangement of mirrors and lit ring segments! 

Installation view of Return to Earth at Gana Art Centre. Photo: courtesy of the artist. 

Chiharu Shiota: Return to Earth at Gana Art Centre. Until 7 September 2025

Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota returns to Seoul with Return to Earth, her latest installation at Gana Art Centre. As ever, her work invites viewers to step into the subconscious through threaded spaces built from memory, absence and emotional tension. 

Cell XI (Portrait) (2000) by Louise Bourgeois will be featured as part of the upcoming exhibition at Ho-Am Art Museum. Credit: ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Lent by Artist Rooms Foundation 2011

Louise Bourgeois at Ho-Am Art Museum. Until 4 January 2026

For the first time in 25 years, a Korean museum hosts a dedicated exhibition to Louise Bourgeois. This focused retrospective, featuring iconic pieces like Mother and rarely seen early paintings, centres the psychological depth of the artist’s world. Personal writings, diaries and notes on psychoanalysis accompany the works, offering a window into her interior life.

Don't forget to check out the Hee Won Garden. This traditional Korean garden features stone walls, pavilions, and a lotus pond, offering visitors a serene environment to explore.

Knotworks, 2020–25 by Antony Gormley. Photo: courtesy of the artist and Thaddaeus Ropac. 

Antony Gormley: Inextricable at White Cube and Thaddaeus Ropac, 2 September to 8 November 2025

Two spaces, one artist. Antony Gormley makes his Seoul debut with a citywide presentation across White Cube and Thaddaeus Ropac. At the heart of Inextricable is a meditation on the body within the built environment and how architecture both houses and reshapes us. With major works from Gormley’s Blockworks, Beamer, Strapworks and Knotworks series, the exhibition plays out as a sculptural dialogue between form, space and urban life.

Just a short walk away lies Dosan Park: a peaceful, tree-lined retreat that honours the legacy of politician Dosan Ahn Chang-ho. It’s an ideal spot for a quiet pause amid the buzz and traffic of Seoul.

Distinct Elevation by Liam Gillick. Photo: courtesy of Kerlin Gallery. 

Frieze Seoul 2025: Special Projects, 3 to 6 September 2025

Back for its fourth edition, Frieze Seoul expands its reach with a series of special projects exploring the intersection of contemporary practice and local context. Highlights include a new commission by acclaimed duo Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho, known for their socially engaged work, and a site-specific intervention by Liam Gillick featuring two raised Plexiglas platforms designed for conversation, contemplation and everything in between.