Evolved museum: the Former Belgian consulate

The first Belgian Consulate was built in the Hoe-hyeon area in 1905. Although the Consulate closed its doors in 1918, the building was actively used for other purposes until it was torn down. Back in 2004, when the Nam Seoul Living Arts Museum opened its doors, it took inspiration from the look of the original Belgian Consulate. This red brick, two-story house with a European exterior, white pillars, large windows and golden doorknobs on wooden doors makes it hard to miss. It’s definitely not what you might expect to find on the busy intersection of Sadang Station. As part of SeMA’s modern history project in 2015, the Nam Seoul Living Arts Museum is putting on this exhibition to celebrate the founding of the original Belgian Consulate 110 years ago. On the 1st floor of the exhibition, you can learn about the history of the former Belgian Consulate through photographs. The black and white images date back to the 1900s and underneath each one there’s some short text explaining the historical context of the photo. Tiles from the original 1905 edifice are also on display here. On the 2nd floor, there are works of art by Korean artists as well as paintings, media art and installation art. In the last room at the end of the hall you can discover the history of the district surrounding the Nam Seoul Living Arts Museum.