Museum SAN

SAN stands for space, art and nature, and the museum is built along a ridge in the hills above Wonju by Ando Tadao, whose usual materials - board-formed concrete, cut stone, controlled daylight - are here strung out as a sequence rather than a single building. You walk a long approach past a birch grove, a flower garden and a shallow water court that reflects the stone walls, before reaching the galleries, which hold a paper museum reflecting the founding company's business and a collection of modern Korean painting including a hall for Kim Whanki. Beyond them stands a separate James Turrell wing with several of his light installations, entered on a timed ticket in small groups, and a stone meditation hall added later. It is expensive by Korean museum standards and remote. The building and the walk are what people come for; the collection is secondary and most visitors say so.

What you actually see

• The Ando sequence - approach, water court, stone walls, controlled light.
• The Turrell wing - timed entry, small groups, separate ticket.
• The Korean painting halls - including a Kim Whanki room.
• The ridge setting - hills on all sides, especially in autumn.

When to go

April to June and October; autumn colour on the ridge is the peak. Closed Mondays. Book the Turrell slot in advance - it sells out and cannot be added on the day.

Honest expectations

Expensive, and the Turrell and meditation halls cost extra on top of admission. It is far from Wonju station with no convenient public transport. The architecture outshines the collection, which disappoints people who came for the art.

Nearby

Wonju is 15 km away; Chiaksan National Park is close.