Unlike most Western museums, the MMCA is a state-led institution that has experienced rapid growth. This specificity only makes sense within the reflection and practice of the universal role of the museum, and the development of the history of MMCA has been a process of establishing this
universal specificity and uniqueness. And it has risen to become one of the most influential institutions in Asia within just half a century. This book is an introductory guide designed to provide a better understanding of MMCA by describing its main functions and their development from its inception to the present. It tells detailed stories about the museum’s birth and how it has strengthened its system, built its collections, and developed its unique features.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Since its foundation in 1969, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, also known as MMCA, has shared its history with that of Korea’s modern and contemporary art and became one of the most iconic cultural spaces in the nation. By opening additional museums in Gwacheon in 1986, Deoksugung in 1998, Seoul in 2013, and Cheongju in 2018, we have four major establishments that are unique and organically affiliated. For instance, MMCA Deoksugung places priority on early modern Korean art, expanding its coverage to calligraphy and literature, and MMCA Seoul represents Korea’s modern art and features an integration of contemporary art. While MMCA Gwacheon focuses on art research and family activities, covering the breadth of art history from architecture to crafts, prints, and design and offering children’s programs, MMCA Cheongju has established a system of storage, research, conservation, and exhibition that comprises the life cycle of collections. Looking back on the past fifty years, the MMCA will gather insight from the art world and soar to new heights in the next fifty to come.