A hotel becomes an art museum: JW Marriott Dongdaemun serves cuisine with a painter’s touch

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul’s lobby lounge has taken on the feel of an art museum, with Seoul’s Heunginjimun visible beyond its windows. The hotel is presenting “Musée d’JW,” a signature art afternoon tea promotion, from September 5 to December 3.

The program has continued each autumn since it was first introduced in 2023, adopting a new theme each year. This time, the hotel partnered with artist Lim Jeong-ah, whose bold brushwork and vivid colors shape the experience across the tables and exhibition space.

Visitors encounter an atelier-style photo zone at the entrance, designed to look like the artist’s studio. A carefully produced leaflet-style exhibition ticket and art brochure make the lounge feel less like a conventional tea venue and more like a curated museum exhibition.

The display includes nine of Lim’s existing works, spanning pop art and portraiture, along with one large new piece created especially for the collaboration.