Picasso Comes to the Former 63 Building Aquarium Site... Centre Pompidou to Open in June

Aging Landmark 63 Building Transformed into a Cultural Hub
Global Cultural Content Flows into Yeouido's Financial Center

With the opening of a permanent exhibition hub in Yeouido, Seoul, the entry of global museum IP into Korea is gaining full momentum through Centre Pompidou. Pompidou Center Hanwha, which will open in cooperation between Centre Pompidou, France's National Museum of Modern Art, and Hanwha, is scheduled to launch this June at the 63 Building in Yeouido.

According to Hanwha on February 5, Pompidou Center Hanwha will be completed at the end of February and will open its first exhibition in early June. The inaugural exhibition will feature a Cubism-themed show built around key works from the Centre Pompidou collection and is expected to run for about four months.

Pompidou Center. The Asia Business Daily DB

This project goes beyond simply bringing in an overseas museum; it is drawing attention from industry as a long-term business model that leverages global cultural IP. Centre Pompidou and Hanwha have signed a four-year agreement and established a structure under which they will hold two Centre Pompidou collection exhibitions each year, alongside separate in-house curated shows. They plan to build a mid- to long-term partnership with a view to continuing their collaboration even after the contract period ends.

The opening of Pompidou Center Hanwha is also a strategic move aligned with the long-term closure of the main Centre Pompidou building. Since last fall, Centre Pompidou has embarked on a large-scale renovation project that will last about five years, creating conditions under which it can simultaneously present its major collections overseas and operate permanent hubs. As a result, collaboration models targeting major global cities have been fully activated, and Seoul has been chosen as the key hub for the Asian market.

Industry observers note that Pompidou Center Hanwha is not a short-term exhibition event, but rather a permanent commercialization model for a global cultural brand. The analysis is that it can generate sustained visitor demand by combining a stable supply of collection works with a proven curation system and strong brand credibility.

Finishing work is in full swing at Pompidou Center Hanwha, aiming for completion in February. Photo by Seo Mideum

Pompidou Center Hanwha is being created by completely remodeling the annex of the 63 Building, which was previously used as an aquarium. The four-story-above-ground facility will house exhibition and operation spaces, including two main exhibition halls of about 500 pyeong each. The design is led by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who was responsible for the Louvre Museum renovation and the Elysee Palace project.

The project is also being evaluated as a case of repurposing an aging downtown landmark asset into cultural and tourism content. Analysts say that the arrival of a global museum brand in Yeouido, the financial center of Seoul, is expected to simultaneously boost the local commercial district, tourism, and the city's international business image.

The fact that Hanwha Group, which has been relatively quiet in the art field, is opening a permanent exhibition space in partnership with one of the world's leading public museums is also drawing industry attention. This is because the collaboration is structural, encompassing space, operations, and personnel rather than being limited to simple sponsorship. In particular, with former Arko Art Center Director Lim Geunhye joining the project last year, observers say that professional talent acquisition and long-term operational strategy are being advanced in parallel.

A Hanwha representative stated, "This is the first time that Centre Pompidou, a world-class public museum, is operating a permanent exhibition space through a partnership with a Korean company," adding, "We see this as a starting point for expanding cooperation with the Korean cultural market from a long-term perspective."

The opening of Pompidou Center Hanwha is expected to serve as a test case, not only for hosting overseas masterpieces, but also for gauging what position Seoul can occupy on the global cultural and content industry map. If it can demonstrate stable visitor demand and a sustainable operating model, some say it could lead to further entries of other global cultural IP into Korea.

An industry insider commented, "This project is closer to a long-term industrial initiative utilizing global IP than a one-off cultural event," and added, "The key will be how much of a compound effect it can generate by combining culture, tourism, real estate, and brand value."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.