Museum DAH, Maximalia | Centum CIty, Busan, South Korea

People on Korean Bills in Collage Art Form

As of June 13, 2022, Museum DAH: has changed its name to Museum 1.

The world has changed and so has art. Digital art is a new trend, and Museum DAH: in Busan is a perfect place to immerse yourself in this emerging new art form.

Event

완전한 세상 Maximalia – Exhibition

Location

20, Centum seo-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea

Hours

10 a.m. – 7 p.m. (weekdays) 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (weekend)

Admission

Adult: 18,000 KRW / Student (High & Middle School): 15,000 KRW / Children (over 48 months): 13,000 KRW

Direction

Subway: Line 2 (Green Line), Centum City station (센텀시티/206), Exit 6 > Walk (600 meters / 650 yards)
Parking: available

Contact

Museum 1’s Facebook Page
Museum 1’s Instagram Feed
Website of Kunst 1 (Museum 1’s Management Company)

(Information based on the visit in 2019, November)

Museum DAH:’s first exhibition: Maximalia

Museum DAH: opened in July 2019, in Centum City, Busan. It is the first and largest museum in South Korea solely dedicated to media art. The worldly renowned media artist duo, Collage Plus (Jang Seunghyo and Kim Yongmin), and art planning company, Kunst1, cofounded the museum.

“완전한 세상 Maximalia” is the museum’s first exhibition for its grand opening. Collage Plus, the founder of the museum, has created eye-catching media artworks that fill the whole museum. Many of them are the results of collaboration with top-class artists including Karim Rashid, Alessandro Mendini, Lee Sangbong, and more. At this exhibition, the audience can take in a completely new genre embracing art, science, fashion, furniture, video, and music altogether.

The artists installed 80 million (yes, 80,000,000) light-emitting diodes on floors, walls, and ceilings to display awe-inspiring artistic wonders for the audience. Previously, many visual displays and exhibitions have used beam projectors. The beam projectors had issues such as creating shadows when people moved around or not being able to avoid backlight for pictures. However, LED installation solves these problems so it lets the audience solely appreciate the artworks.

Museum DAH at Centum City Busan — The exterior of Museum DAH:

Colorful Ceiling Decoration at Museum DAH, Busan — The artists don’t miss any corner of the space.

Artworks at Museum DAH:

In Search of Lost Time

Proust Chair by Alessandro Mendini. Alessandro Mendini designed this million-seller chair inspired by Marcel Proust’s novel, ‘In Search of Lost Time.’ Many modern designers had tried to introduce completely new designs to the world before Mendini. However, unlike them, this Italian designer believed that it is more meaningful to reinterpret already existing items by adding new graphics rather than creating new designs. Proust Chair was the first result of this attempt.

Miracle Garden

Miracle Garden is at the center of the exhibition. 35-meter (114 feet) long, 11-meter (36 feet) wide floor and 10-meter (33 feet) tall screen create South Korea’s first and largest LED display space. At this digital media garden, you can watch Collage Plus’ 9 videos for 40 minutes. Music director, Go Jin, composed all the background music for these video arts, and the music makes the experience in this room even more surreal. In addition, you will face the statue by Kim Youngwon, who also sculpted The Great King Sejong statue at Gwanghwamun Plaza.

Art Lounge and Design Yourself I, II

Iron Man in Collage Art form at Museum DAH

On the second floor, you will find Art Lounge and Design Yourself sections. In Design Yourself, you can appreciate the collaboration between the world famous designer Karim Rashid and Collage Plus. Karim Rashid is an industrial designer. He is famous for his simple and intrinsic design. Time magazine has once named him as the most famous industrial designer in all the Americas and nicknamed him the Prince of Plastic.

More Sections

The museum has several sections. On the first floor, you can wander through Art Car Project_Beetle, Knocking on Heaven’s Gate, Eternal Sunshine, In Search of Lost Time, Miracle Garden, and Dream Flower. Moving to the second floor, Way to Heaven, Design Yourself I and II, and Art Lounge are waiting for you. Some artworks are interactive so you can try them for yourself.

What can’t you miss when you visit museums? The gift shop! At Museum DAH:’s gift shop, items are too artistic to call them souvenirs. From Mickey Mouse to Olaf, familiar faces in a new design form will get your attention.

Recent Update

The museum is currently hosting a new exhibition, ‘Super Nature.’ The exhibition will run until February 2, 2021. ‘Super Nature’ focuses on biodiversity and environmental movements. Therefore, the artists try to inspire the audience to pay more attention to environmental issues. Check out the museum’s exhibition schedule on its website.

In Centum City Area near Museum DAH:

Do you want to shop, eat, watch movies, and more? You name it, Centum City has it. For entertainment, Busan Cinema Center (Dureraum) and Sohyang Theater show diverse movies and musicals. If you are an avid shopper, you will lose your sense of time at Shinsegae Department store (which is the largest department store in the world) and Lotte Department store. And if you get hungry while you’re shopping, you don’t have to leave the building. Restaurants at Shinsegae Department Store.

In addition to Museum DAH:, Busan Museum of Art is another artistic venue where you will find magnificent artworks. Also, check the schedule of BEXCO. The venue always has something going on, so you may find an event of your interest. APEC Naru Park along Suyeong River is another place to get you to want to stay a bit longer in Centum City.