Life piles up a whole host of stories. If one does not empty these overflowing stories, there will be no space for truly valuable things to be preserved. Therefore, the act of emptying may perhaps matter more than continuing to pile up. For Kingos who want to be free from a chaotic mind, Museum SAN is the destination to travel to. Be captivated by beautiful art and nature with the Sungkyun Times (SKT).
Space Created by Space
-Museum in the Forest
Museum SAN, located on Oak Valley Road in Wonju City, Gangwon Province, is a pastoral museum shaped by Ando Tadao, the master of architecture who won the Pritzker Prize known as the Nobel Prize for architecture. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is closed every Monday. Its admission fee depends on the price of the base ticket and the additional exhibition options visitors can choose from. According to Tadao, the construction of the museum started with his hope of building a paradise in a cozy place surrounded by beautiful mountains and nature, far away from the chaotic city. He attempted to capture the harmony of art and architecture throughout the changing four seasons when designing the entire structure of the museum. Museum SAN, meaning space, art, and nature, and the slogan “Disconnect to Connect” let visitors deeply relax through an analog ambiance. The journey in Museum SAN begins from the grass parking lot and welcome center, continues with the flower garden, water garden, and the main building, then ends with the stone garden and James Turrell Hall. Starting in 2005 and completed in 2013, the construction took eight years to complete. The museum boasts stunning views, standing at an altitude of 275m. It covers an area of 22,000m2 and a total length of 700m, which corresponds to about nine soccer fields.
-How to Visit
To start the route from the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus (HSSC), Kingos can take the Jongno 08 bus at the Sungkyunkwan University Back Gate Bus Stop and get off at the Jongno 5-ga Bus Stop. Then, take the Line 1 subway at Jongno 5-ga Station and get off at Cheongnyangni Station. Board the KTX and get off at Seowonju Station. Afterward, take the Wonju City Tour Bus or Oak Valley Shuttle Bus to finally arrive at Museum SAN. For the route leaving from the Natural Sciences Campus (NSC), Kingos can take Line 1 at Sungkyunkwan University Station until the Cheongnyangni Station. The rest of the route is identical from there.
Museum, Space, Art, Nature
-Artistic Sequence
The most special feature of Museum SAN is that the sequence calculated thoroughly becomes the art itself, while nature and water act as significant elements. Passing through the welcome center and walking through the nature trail, Kingos first encounter a vast flower garden. The harmony of widely spread blue greenery, red blushed flowers, endless sky, and elegant classical music from the outdoor speakers induces a sense of awe. The water garden, which is at the entrance of the museum, acts as a mirror that reflects the surrounding nature, presenting the sentiment that visitors might feel as though they were on a lake in the forest. Since the boundaries of water space are connected to where the forest begins, it evokes a mysterious atmosphere in which the artificial space and natural space are linked together, floating on water. In the main building, the wing structure is organically composed of rectangular, circular, and triangular spaces, which corresponds to the connection of earth, sky, and humanity. Seeing the stone garden, where the stone mounds inspired by the tombs of the Silla Dynasty and green pine trees create grand harmony, Kingos may be fascinated by the magnificent view of the earth. The serenity from warm sunshine sprinkled on the stone mound and the shadow pine trees enhances the scenery. With this, Kingos will directly experience the special coordination of the relationship between the natural world and the human world while wandering around Museum SAN.
-Light Creates Space
After a walk around the museum with a fluttering heart, Kingos will arrive at the exhibition area of light. At the James Turrell Hall, with exhibitions of an artist of light and space, Kingos can participate in four interactive exhibitions for 40 minutes. In the Horizon Room, which visualizes an altar of light, Kingos would follow up the stairs, looking at the blue square frame situated at the end. At the end of the staircase, Kingos can recognize that the square frame shows the actual outdoor scenery, in resemblance to the last scene of the movie The Truman Show. Through the illusion of ambiguous boundary created by the light and its transition to enlightenment, the exhibition leaves one to question the real meaning of truth. Moving to the outdoors with the afterglow of light, Kingos can head to the Meditation Hall, which naturally mingles with the stone garden. With an area of 132m2, the dome-shaped Meditation Hall has a window that crosses over the center of the ceiling. The darkness of the hall is reminiscent of a silent forest until the light eventually penetrates the window. This view creates an incredible space as aspects of the light change from moment to moment. Lying in the Meditation Hall while listening to calm music with peppermint oil rubbed onto the back of one’s neck, the space suddenly transforms into a forest in a fairy-tale filled with the scent of grass. Kingos can prepare to accept the new treasures in life and replenish the power to live by emptying all their thoughts and concentrating only on their breathing.
Analog Aesthetic: Disconnect to Connect
Wrapping up the experience of the mysterious space, Kingos can relax at the Café Terrace, where the outdoors is linked to the indoors. When sitting on the terrace located on the top deck of a staircase-style mirror pond, vast mountains will unfold in front of one’s eyes. While capturing the wonderful scenery, savor a warm cup of coffee and a piece of matcha cake. Through these simple pleasures, Kingos will realize that happiness is not far away. After enjoying a leisurely moment, it is time to visit the paper galley, which rediscovers the value of analog sensibility. The Papyrus Conservatory, an outdoor space with the concept of a courtyard, introduces the history of paper. Here, papyrus, the precursor material to make paper, can be observed. Walking through the paper gallery and viewing the striking collection of national treasures and significant cultural heritage pieces, visitors can watch the history of paper unfold. The final part of the paper gallery is a holographic installation art with the theme of paper. As a holographic drop of ink falls on the paper, a letter appears on it. When the paper is tilted toward the screen, the letters on it flow upward fluidly. Charmed by the sensitivity of paper and analog atmosphere under the slogan of “Disconnect to Connect,” one may start to remember how to find relaxation in life again.
Walk at a slow pace and breathe in the fresh air of Wonju. Soon, concerns and anxieties in Kingos’ minds will fade away, with blooming potential to regain back their strength in life. By merging into a beautiful harmonization of nature and architecture through Museum SAN, one will be reborn.