That unusual museum of the South Korean city of Cheongju had many names. It was called a conceptual art museum and an art warehouse. Actually, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is the first art museum in South Korea where the visitors can not only get acquainted with the permanent collections but also see the masterpieces of its archives.

The unique modern museum was opened in 2018 on the territory of a tobacco plant that was abandoned in 1999. Its 5 floors, which occupy an area of around 20 thousand square meters, were restored in two years. After the works, the third branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art opened its doors to the visitors. Its highly valuable collections were placed in the spacious halls of an original style. Metal racks up to 14 meters long and 4 meters high became a beautiful futuristic decoration for fantastic sculptures which were made by famous Korean masters. There you can find the famous statue of Maitreya Buddha made by the famous Korean master of a western artistic style Kim Pok-chin, one of the black statues from the «Nana» collection by Niki de Saint Phalle and an amazing installation of the pioneer of the video art Nam June Paik.

On the one hand, the sophisticated cultural space of the museum is designed as exhibition halls to demonstrate pieces of art. On the other, it is the place for storing items in special temperature conditions and under the particular humidity level. Thanks to the transparent glass walls, the visitors can see the «behind-the-scenes» conservation and restoration of authentic masterpieces works there. This is what you will not find in any other museums or galleries of the world. Thus, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Cheongju offers opportunities both to see the rare masterpieces and to get acquainted with the work process of the museum archive.