MMCA Gwacheon unveils three new bus stops for shuttles to museum

Arts & Design

Published: 14 Feb. 2022, 16:15 Updated: 14 Feb. 2022, 17:57

MMCA Gwacheon unveils three new bus stops for shuttles to museum

One of the new bus stops for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s (MMCA) Gwacheon branch. This one is located in the main gates of the museum. [MMCA]

Lee Myung-ja, an 80-year-old woman who lives in Mapo District, western Seoul, enjoys going to art museums with her friends, like the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s (MMCA) Gwacheon branch in Gyeonggi.

However, she did not know for years that the museum provides free shuttle bus rides to and from Seoul Grand Park station, subway line 4, which is about a 10-minute drive between the locations.

“I’ve always had my friends or family drive me there by car,” Lee said. “I thought that was the only option.”

For years, the MMCA’s Gwacheon branch did not have a proper bus stop for people to wait at. Only a temporary stop existed, but it was so obscure that many, including Lee, had been unaware of it.

The museum is surrounded by a forest and there is no public transportation available so the only ideal way to get there is by a car or taxi.

The bus stop located at exit 4 of Seoul Grand Park station. Free shuttle rides are offered every 20 minutes. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

To make it easier to visit, the museum has installed three shuttle bus stops that were opened on Dec. 15. Shuttle buses run every 20 minutes and are free of charge.

Kim Sara, leading architect at local architecture studio Diagonal Thoughts, took on the project to create architectural art in three locations: exit 4 of Seoul Grand Park station and the main and back gates of the MMCA’s Gwacheon branch. The sculpture-like installations are made of carbonized logs and aluminum.

The new bus stops are part of “MMCA Gwacheon Project 2021,” an annual competition organized by the museum that encourages artists to revitalize and make good use of the outdoors nearby.

Kim’s three sculpture installations are called “( ) function.” The parentheses open up the possibility for prefixes like “multi-,” “mal-" or “dys-" to fill up the space.

The bus stop located at the back gates of the MMCA's Gwacheon branch. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

“I thought long and hard about the role of a bus stop, especially one for an art museum,” Kim said at a press event on Thursday. “As you can see I tried to portray the beauty of negative spaces as well. The benches aren’t the only option to wait at. You can also lean on the slanted walls. I didn’t necessarily think of a ‘perfect’ way for people to utilize this space, rather, it’s entirely open for interpretation.”

The Gwacheon project is more than just the bus stops. The interior of the museum’s buses are heavily scented with a forest-like perfume, made by local fragrance brand Sutome Apothecary, and filled with an ambient bell sound by artist Jang Sung-gun.

MMCA’s Gwacheon branch is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Mondays.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]