South Korea’s next art travel spot to collect: a “Floating Museum” that really floats on the water

Key takeaways

• Sinan County in South Korea’s Jeollanam-do Province is advancing its “One Island, One Museum” project, bringing together four renowned artists, including Yukinori Yanagi and Olafur Eliasson, to turn its 1,004 islands into an open-air art destination.

• The “Floating Museum,” designed by Japanese artist Yukinori Yanagi, is set to open on Anjwa Island in summer 2026, making Sinan County a new destination to watch for art travel in South Korea.

• The Floating Museum consists of seven mirrored cubes representing Earth’s continents. Its appearance shifts with the sky and the movement of the sea, challenging the conventional idea of a massive landmark.

• Inside, the seven cubes are connected into a single exhibition space. Along with exhibitions centered on the ocean and the history of the Korean Peninsula, it will feature two classic series exploring human desire and national borders, including “World Flag Ant Farm.”

Travel isn’t always about arriving in a particular city. Sometimes, it’s about seeing how a landscape can be reimagined. Sinan County in South Korea’s Jeollanam-do Province, a place made up of more than a thousand islands, is preparing to welcome a particularly poetic museum. Rather than becoming a massive landmark, it rests quietly on the water, using mirrored surfaces, the sky, and the light and shadows of the islands to become part of the landscape. Designed by Japanese contemporary artist Yukinori Yanagi, the “Floating Museum” is set to open this summer, putting Sinan County on the map as a new destination to watch for art travel in South Korea.

Turning islands into museums is Sinan County’s most romantic plan

Sinan County lies off South Korea’s southwestern coast and is made up of 1,004 islands. Because “1,004” is pronounced the same as “angel” in Korean, it is also known as the “Islands of Angels.” Compared with Seoul’s fast pace and Busan’s port-city atmosphere, Sinan’s appeal lies in the slow unfolding of everyday life in nature: its islands, wetlands, salt fields, flower fields, and sea breezes create a rhythm all its own.

This island character also became the starting point for the “One Island, One Museum” project. Since 2010, Sinan County has been advancing this arts initiative in the hope that art will exist not only in city centers, but also along coastlines, in villages, and within local memories. Artists including Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Antony Gormley, and Yukinori Yanagi are part of the plan, gradually transforming the archipelago from a natural attraction into a larger open-air art destination.

Seven cubes floating between the sky, sea, and time

Yukinori Yanagi’s “Floating Museum” is located on Anjwa Island in Sinan County and consists of seven cubes of varying sizes. The number evokes the archipelago and symbolizes Earth’s seven continents. Its mirrored exterior reflects the sea, sky, and surrounding scenery, bringing them into the architecture and allowing the museum to continually change with the weather, light, and movement of the water.

It is not a building eager to be noticed, but more like a dream that asks you to approach slowly. During the day, it reflects the blue sky and outlines of the islands. At dusk, as light falls across the cubes, the entire structure seems to float briefly beyond reality. For those who love art, architecture, and travel, the appeal isn’t just the photo opportunity, but the experience of seeing the landscape itself become the artwork.

Inside the museum, there is more to see than the scenery

The appeal of the Floating Museum extends beyond its exterior. Inside, visitors will move through the seven cube spaces, using the exhibitions to learn about the history, culture, and marine environment of the Korean Peninsula. Signature works by Yukinori Yanagi will also be on view, including “World Flag Ant Farm,” which explores national borders and ethnic consciousness, and the “Icarus” series, which responds to technology, the economy, and human desire. For that reason, the Floating Museum is more than just a pretty new destination. It is a gentle yet profound entry point, taking visitors from island scenery into history, from architectural reflections to nature, and from artworks to a renewed consideration of the relationship between people and the world.

As travel in South Korea extends beyond Seoul, Jeju, and Busan, Sinan County offers travelers another possibility: going a little slower and a little farther, for a museum and for a stretch of sea newly illuminated by art. The Floating Museum, set to open this summer, may not be South Korea’s busiest attraction, yet it may be one of the landscapes people most want to see in person. It reminds us that the most memorable trips are not always about entering a city, but about encountering a place where time slows down.

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