Chusa Memorial Hall

About this place

Kim Jeong-hui, known as Chusa, the great 19th-century scholar and calligrapher, spent years in exile in Daejeong on Jeju. It was there that he painted Sehando, the winter landscape that became one of the most celebrated works of Korean art. The Chusa Memorial Hall, designed by Seung H-sang of IROJE and opened in 2010, stands beside the site of his place of exile. Seung, known for his idea of the "beauty of poverty", kept the building deliberately humble. Above ground, a plain, barn-like volume echoes the simple house in Sehando. Most of the museum lies below, where the galleries holding Chusa's calligraphy and documents are reached by descending into the earth. The route ends in a tall, bare room lit from above, a pause before returning to daylight that recalls the solitude of exile. Visit together with the restored exile residence next door.