Frieze Seoul and Kiaf: The Temple Across the Street

September 5, 2026Researched, not visited

Last verified: 2026-09-05. Rules and prices change — always confirm on the official site before you travel.

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Frieze Seoul and Kiaf SEOUL fill COEX, in Gangnam, every September — 2026’s editions ran 2–5 September (Frieze, its fifth year) and 2–6 September (Kiaf, its 25th), with 175 galleries from 18 countries between them. If you are in Seoul for either, there is a temple two minutes away that almost nobody at the fair walks over to see.

Bongeunsa temple's traditional tiled roofs in the foreground, with Samseong-dong's skyscrapers — including COEX and the InterContinental Hotel — rising directly behind — Bongeunsa's tiled roofs, with the towers of Samseong-dong — including COEX — rising directly behind them. The temple was here first, by about 1,200 years. Photo: S h y numis, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Getting around: our guide to data and map apps in Korea covers what public wifi misses and what Kakao Map or Naver Map can tell you that Google Maps still can't.

The temple five minutes from the fair

Bongeunsa (봉은사) sits directly across Bongeunsa-ro from the COEX complex — a two- to five-minute walk from the mall entrance, or three minutes from Bongeunsa Station (Line 9, Exit 1). A monk named Yeonhoe founded it in 794, during the reign of Silla’s King Wonseong, under the name Gyeonseongsa. It was rebuilt and renamed Bongeunsa in 1498, under the patronage of Joseon’s Queen Jeonghyeon, and from 1551 to 1936 it served as Korea’s center of Seon Buddhism.

None of that is behind glass. It is a working temple — chanting, incense, people at prayer — with COEX’s glass towers and the InterContinental visible over the rooflines the moment you look up. The contrast is the point: the contemporary art in the halls a few minutes away is decades old at most, and the ground you would be standing on to look at it is about 1,200 years older than that.

Close detail of dancheong brackets and a bell at the corner of the Jijangjeon hall, Bongeunsa, Seoul — The kind of thing worth looking up for — geum-grade dancheong painting under the eaves of Bongeunsa's Jijangjeon hall, a dragon's face filling the panel. Photo: Ethan Doyle White, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Distance from COEX: 2–5 minute walk, directly across Bongeunsa-ro
Nearest station: Bongeunsa (Line 9), Exit 1 — 3 minutes on foot
Founded: 794, as Gyeonseongsa
Rebuilt and renamed: 1498, under Queen Jeonghyeon
Admission: Free, dawn to dusk

If you have half a day: Insadong

Insadong is Seoul’s own gallery district — just a different five centuries of it. Where COEX in fair week is white-cube booths and gallery representatives, Insadong is hanji shops, antique dealers and small private galleries that have sold Korean art and craft since well before Frieze existed anywhere.

It is also the one part of Seoul’s workshop scene that does not need advance planning. Most Korean craft workshops in Seoul need at least a day’s notice on the platforms that list them, but studios around Insadong and Ssamziegil take walk-ins directly — turn up with a free afternoon and you can be taught mother-of-pearl inlay or folk painting in a group within the hour. If paper is more your interest than painting, our hanji buying guide covers what is actually worth bringing home from the shops there.

Getting from COEX to Insadong means the subway (Samseong to Anguk, around 35 minutes, one transfer) or a taxi (about 11 minutes, ₩11,000–14,000 in normal traffic). Neither is a detour from the fair so much as a different half-century to spend an afternoon in.

Getting there

A Korean eSIM is worth having regardless of which direction you go — Naver Map handles Korean addresses better than Google Maps does, and you will want it for both the temple’s side streets and Insadong’s alleys. Our eSIM comparison covers which to buy, and reading hangul on signs helps once you are off COEX’s English-language footprint.

Quick answers

How far is Bongeunsa Temple from COEX?

A two- to five-minute walk, directly across Bongeunsa-ro from the mall entrance. Bongeunsa Station on Line 9 (Exit 1) is about three minutes on foot from the temple.

When are Frieze Seoul and Kiaf each year?

Both run in early September, though exact dates move slightly year to year — 2026’s editions were 2–5 September (Frieze) and 2–6 September (Kiaf). Check each fair’s official site for the current year’s confirmed dates before booking travel.

How old is Bongeunsa Temple?

Founded in 794 under King Wonseong of Silla, as Gyeonseongsa. It was rebuilt and took its current name in 1498 under Joseon’s Queen Jeonghyeon, and served as Korea’s center of Seon Buddhism from 1551 to 1936.

Is Insadong worth the trip from COEX during fair week?

If you have half a day. It is roughly 35 minutes by subway or 11 minutes by taxi, and unlike most Seoul craft workshops — which need a day’s advance booking — studios around Insadong and Ssamziegil take walk-ins.

Checked 5 September 2026. Frieze Seoul’s 2–5 September 2026 dates, COEX venue and fifth-edition status from Frieze’s own newsroom; Kiaf’s 2–6 September dates and the 175-gallery, 18-country figure from the Korea Times. Bongeunsa’s founding in 794, its 1498 reconstruction and renaming under Queen Jeonghyeon, and its 1551–1936 role as Korea’s Seon Buddhism center from Wikipedia’s sourced summary of the temple’s history. The two- to five-minute walking distance from COEX and the Bongeunsa Station route are corroborated across independent travel write-ups. Subway and taxi times between Samseong and Anguk stations from Rome2Rio. Workshop booking lead times and Insadong’s walk-in exception are covered in more depth in our craft workshops guide. Fair dates shift year to year — confirm on the organizer’s own site before planning around them.