Last updated: September 2026
Quick answer: The Busan Museum of Art reopens on Thursday, September 17, 2026, after roughly two years closed for a full building renovation. Four exhibitions open at once, including an international show called “Future Museology” and a historical exhibition on the years around liberation and the Korean War. The reopening lands in a quiet gap on Busan’s fall arts calendar — after the Busan Biennale has settled in and before the Busan International Film Festival arrives in October.
Table of Contents
- What’s Reopening at the Busan Museum of Art?
- When Can You Visit?
- What Exhibitions Are Opening?
- How Do You Get There?
- Where Should You Stay?
What’s Reopening at the Busan Museum of Art?
The Busan Museum of Art, the city’s main public art museum on the shore of Suyeongman Bay in Haeundae-gu, has been closed since late 2024 for a full building renovation — close to two years of work on the galleries and facilities. It reopens to the public on Thursday, September 17, 2026, with a program built around four exhibitions launching on the same day rather than a single headline show, according to Korean-language coverage of the reopening (Money Today / MHNS, Sisa Culture Today).
The timing is useful for anyone planning a Busan arts trip this fall: the museum reopens after the Busan Biennale is already underway (it runs through November 1) and well before the Busan International Film Festival kicks off in early October, so a September visit lets you catch the newly reopened museum without competing with the city’s two biggest fall arts crowds.
When Can You Visit?
The reopening date is September 17, 2026. As with most Korean public museums, expect the museum to be closed on Mondays and to check the official Busan Museum of Art site or its social channels closer to your trip for confirmed opening hours and any reopening-week programming — museums often add extended hours or special talks in the first week or two after a long closure.
What Exhibitions Are Opening?
Four exhibitions open together on reopening day. The headline show is an international exhibition titled “Future Museology,” which looks at how museums themselves are changing. Alongside it is a historical exhibition, “But We Are Still on This Sea of High Waves: 1945–1953,” covering the turbulent years from Korea’s liberation through the Korean War. A third show, drawn from the museum’s own holdings, is titled “This Museum of All Yesterdays.” A fourth exhibition rounds out the reopening program; check the museum’s site for its title and details as the date approaches.
Together, the four shows mean there’s more to see on a single visit than a typical single-exhibition museum stop — worth budgeting two to three hours if you want to see all of them rather than just the headline show.
How Do You Get There?
The Busan Museum of Art sits in Haeundae-gu, near BEXCO and Suyeongman Bay, on the opposite side of the city from Nampo-dong and the older downtown. The easiest way in is Busan Metro Line 2 to the BEXCO or Centum City area, followed by a short walk, bus, or taxi — the museum isn’t a direct subway exit, so budget a few extra minutes for the last stretch. If you’re combining the museum with the Busan Biennale’s Museum of Contemporary Art Busan venue, note that the two are in different parts of the city, so plan them as separate legs of your trip rather than a single walking loop.
Where Should You Stay?
Haeundae and neighboring Centum City put you within a short subway or taxi ride of the museum, and also close to Busan’s beach strip if you want to combine gallery time with the coast. Since the reopening lands in the fall shoulder season, when rates ease off the summer peak, it’s a good window to compare rooms across Busan🏨 or check a Haeundae-area hotel with bay views🏨 for your dates. For a fuller area-by-area breakdown, see our guide to where to stay in Busan, and our Busan travel guide for what else to fit into a longer trip around the reopening.
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