With the weather forecast calling for another sweltering hot weekend, an indoor escape might be in order. Explore young, emerging artists at the old Seoul Station, which dates back to 1925; get your dopamine hit at a large indoor gaming zone or view historic photographs at Seoul’s first museum specializing in photography — all in the comfort of cool indoors.
Explore emerging art
Asia’s largest art fair for young artists is in full swing at the former Seoul Station, now known as Cultural Station Seoul 284. The 18th Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival features over 1,200 works by more than 550 students and emerging artists from across Asia. It runs through Sept. 7.
This year’s edition is directed by Lee Wan, the Korean Pavilion artist at the 2017 Venice Biennale and now creative director of ASYAAF 2025. Lee has introduced new approaches to presenting and interpreting art, including an AI analysis of the exhibited works. The system organizes the pieces into eight symbolic “train cars” reflecting themes such as departure and arrival, migration and settlement, and past and time.
Visitors will also encounter Lee’s new large-scale installation, “Standard Time,” in the lobby, along with an AI docent system in which virtual “AI crew members” guide audiences through each theme.
The exhibition is divided into three sections: Young Artist (ages 19-35), featuring experimental works by emerging talents; Hidden Artist (ages 36 and older), showcasing deeper artistic explorations; and Overseas Artist, offering diverse perspectives of Asian art.
Admission is 10,000 won for adults and 6,000 won for children and youth.
Culture Station Seoul 284
1 Tongil-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Get a hit of dopamine
Yongsan’s I-Park Mall offers another cool indoor alternative for those seeking to escape the steamy city. The third floor now hosts Dopamine Station, a destination designed for gamers, anime enthusiasts and pop-culture fans.
The expansive, fully air-conditioned space features various specialty shops and immersive zones. Central to the experience is Daewon Shop, offering a range of gaming merchandise, Nintendo character figurines and a large-screen area showcasing the new Nintendo Switch 2. Visitors can also explore PlayShop, an official PlayStation store stocked with consoles, games and interactive stations for trying out popular titles.
Dopamine Station also features a cafe for the hit mobile game Blue Archive, a wall of gacha machines, and a Harry Potter-inspired shop that replicates the Hogwarts experience. The shop offers over 400 merchandise items, including 35 Korea-exclusive products.
For subculture devotees and casual visitors alike, Dopamine Station will be your curated indoor retreat, blending fandom, retail and interactive entertainment under one roof.
Dopamine Station
55 Hangang-daero 23-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Photography museum
Museum Hanmi may be relatively new in name and location, but it carries a history that stretches back two decades. Established in 2003 as the Hanmi Museum of Photography, it was Korea’s first museum specializing in photography, and the first institution in the country to provide systematic support for photographers’ creative and exhibition activities.
On Dec. 21, 2022, the museum moved to Samcheong-dong under a new name, “Museum Hanmi.”
Situated in a quiet corner of an otherwise bustling neighborhood frequented by tourists, the museum is presenting “Magnum Between Pages 1943-2025,” on view until Sept. 14.
The exhibition showcases around 150 photobooks created over the past 80 years of the international photographic cooperation, tracing how they have redefined documentary photography and visual storytelling.
The museum also has an annex where exhibitions, seminars and events take place.
In addition to exhibitions, its architecture is also worth checking out. From the outside, the museum is hidden behind walls, but once inside, visitors discover a central “Water Garden.” The architect placed this garden at the heart of the building, around which three wings intersect in three dimensions, allowing visitors to circulate naturally along the spatial flow.
Museum Hanmi
45 Samcheong-ro 9-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul
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