🏛 National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju
The Cheongju branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) is Korea’s first “storage-type museum”, created by remodeling a former tobacco factory building.
A storage-type museum is a museum that opens its storage facilities to the public. Visitors can see not only the exhibition halls but also the spaces where artworks are actually stored and managed.
- Atmosphere: A unique museum where the industrial vibe of the old factory blends with a modern exhibition space
- Features: Open storage displaying collection works, conservation science lab, and a special exhibition gallery
- Admission: Mostly free, but the 5th floor special exhibition gallery requires a ticket (2,000 KRW)
🖼 Basic Information
⏰ Opening Hours
- Tuesday–Sunday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Last admission: 5:00 PM
- Closed: Every Monday, January 1
💰 Admission Fee
- 5th floor special exhibition gallery: 2,000 KRW
- All other floors: Free
- Tickets issued at the 1st-floor ticket booth (QR code required for entry)
🚗 Parking
- Cultural Factory Integrated Parking Lot
- Address: 30 Deokbeol-ro, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do
(충청북도 청주시 청원구 덕벌로 30) - Free for 2 hours
- After 2 hours: 500 KRW for the first 30 minutes, 200 KRW per 10 minutes thereafter
- Daily maximum: 5,000 KRW
- Monthly pass: 30,000 KRW
🎤 Guided Tours
- Every day at 2:00 PM
📞 Contact
- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju
- Address: 314 Sangdang-ro, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, 28501
- Phone: +82-43-261-1400
🌐 Official Website & SNS
- Website: www.mmca.go.kr
- Twitter: twitter.com/mmcakorea
- Facebook: facebook.com/mmcakorea
- Instagram: instagram.com/mmcakorea
- YouTube: youtube.com/mmcakorea
- Naver TV: tv.naver.com/mmca
📖 Floor Guide
✏️ My Visit
I visited the Cheongju branch in September 2025, when all MMCA branches nationwide were offering free admission from the 1st to the 10th.
At the 1st-floor ticket booth, I received a ticket (marked “0 KRW” since admission was free) and scanned the QR code to enter. Following the staff’s guidance, I started on the 5th floor by elevator and worked my way down floor by floor.
5th Floor – Special Exhibition Gallery
This floor normally requires a 2,000 KRW ticket, but thanks to the free admission week I was able to enjoy the exhibition at no cost. A special watercolor exhibition was on display, covering the history of Korean watercolor painting. Since the program changes regularly, every visit offers something new.
4th Floor – Special Storage (Limited Entry)
This floor houses drawing collections, but access is restricted.
It is open only Tuesday–Friday from 2:00–5:00 PM, with entry limited to 10 people every hour on the hour. Since I visited in the morning, I unfortunately couldn’t enter this time.
3rd & 2nd Floors – Open Storage & Conservation Labs
From the 3rd floor, I truly experienced the uniqueness of a storage-type museum.
Artworks are stored in a warehouse-like manner yet opened to the public through glass walls, so storage and exhibition coexist in one space. There were paintings, sculptures, and even over 100 video works available through the Video Archive.
The “Visible Conservation Science Lab” was especially fascinating. It clearly explained how artworks are preserved and restored, showing me for the first time that behind every piece of art there is a whole world of science and technology.
1st Floor – Large-Scale Exhibition Space
The ground floor felt like stepping into a massive warehouse. Giant shelves were lined with sculptures of all shapes and sizes, and large-scale works were displayed directly on the floor. Walking through and observing each piece was both entertaining and stimulating.
🌟Reflections
I’m so used to the repetitive content fed by algorithms on my phone, but here I was surrounded by an entirely different world. The fresh colors, unfamiliar textures, and varying scales of the works felt like a reset for my brain.
Even though I didn’t fully understand every piece, I was reminded that life can be expressed in countless ways, and that there are so many diverse stories in the world. Visiting the Cheongju MMCA was more than just seeing art—it was a chance to gain a new perspective.
You don’t need to know everything about art to enjoy it. Simply being there was refreshing, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Cheongju.
🏭 Nearby Spaces to Explore
The Cheongju MMCA is part of a cultural complex created by transforming the old tobacco factory grounds. Right next door are Culture Factory (Munhwa Jejochang 문화제조창) and Dongbu Warehouse(동부창고), which are also worth a visit.
After touring the museum, I had lunch at one of the restaurants inside Culture Factory and then enjoyed coffee at a stylish café. The building is spacious and its industrial-modern interior makes strolling around fun in itself.
It would feel incomplete to only see the museum—this whole area is best enjoyed as a single cultural course.
Culture Factory
(Munhwa Jejochang 문화제조창)
- A cultural complex remodeled from the factory’s production buildings
- 1st Floor: Restaurants and cafés (including some of Cheongju’s best-known eateries)
- 2nd Floor & above: Exhibition halls, craft studios, and a library, making it a space where you can eat, explore, and experience all under one roof
⏰ Hours
- Cheongju Open Library (5F): Daily 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, open year-round
- Korea Craft Museum Performance Hall (Main Building, 5F): 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Closed on Mondays, Jan 1, Lunar New Year’s Day, Chuseok, and during certain exhibition periods
Dongbu Warehouse
(동부창고)
- A cultural space converted from old tobacco-leaf storage buildings
- Retains red brick walls and wooden trusses, preserving the charm of early 20th-century industrial architecture
- Hosts exhibitions, performances, workshops, festivals, and is actively rented for cultural events
- Includes a café, perfect for relaxing with a drink after an exhibition
- Great to stop by after visiting the museum and Culture Factory
⏰ Hours
- Tuesday–Friday: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Saturday–Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Closed on Mondays and public holidays
☕ Café C (On-site Café)
- Tuesday–Sunday: 10:30 AM – 7:00 PM (last order 6:30 PM)
- Closed on Mondays, Jan 1, Lunar New Year’s Day, and Chuseok
Want to see it in action? Watch the Shorts here 👇🏻
Related article on Cheongju travel👇🏻
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