Bass and drums link two stages...National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to host “MMCA Night”

When the three-piece band Cadejo starts playing, lines and colors appear on the museum walls. Graphic designer Philip Kim creates images as he listens to the music, and the musicians change the sound in response to the changes on screen. Cadejo bassist Kim Jae-ho and drummer Kim Da-bin will also take the stage as Chudahye Chagis that day. In this set, they add rhythms to the gut songs sung by vocalist Choo Da-hye.
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art said on the 5th that “2026 MMCA Night: Variations on the Night,” a nighttime cultural event, will be held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the 18th. This will be the third edition of “MMCA Night” this year, a series that began in 2017, and is sponsored by Shin Young Securities.■Two performers bringing together improvised graphics and shaman songsThe first performance, “Improvised Graphic Jam,” begins at 6:30 p.m. in the first-floor lobby. A “jam” is a way for musicians to keep playing on the spot as they listen to one another. As guitarist Lee Tae-hoon, bassist Kim Jae-ho and drummer Kim Da-bin play, Philip Kim, who works between Seoul and Los Angeles, turns the flow of the music into real-time graphics. Visitors can download the graphics created through the collaboration via QR code and use them for noncommercial purposes.
Cadejo will perform on its own at 7:10 p.m. From 7:50 p.m., Kim Jae-ho and Kim Da-bin will take the stage with vocalist Choo Da-hye and guitarist Lee Si-moon as the four-piece band Chudahye Chagis.
Chudahye Chagis blends reggae, jazz, hip-hop, funk and other genres with muga—songs passed down through gut rituals in Pyeongan, Jeju and Hwanghae. The band won Best R&B/Soul Song at the 2021 Korean Music Awards for “Ritual Dance,” a track from its debut album, “Under the Dangsan Tree Tonight.”■Standing performances in the lobby and open access to exhibition galleriesAll performances will be standing-room only, with a capacity of 500. On-site check-in for ticket holders runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Participants who check in will each receive one drink—a soda or a beer—and one commemorative bandana.
From 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., participants can visit exhibitions at the museum’s Seoul branch, including “Do Ho Suh” and “Artist of the Year 2026,” without booking separately. “Do Ho Suh” is a solo exhibition bringing together around 500 works, from early pieces to recent works. “Artist of the Year 2026” features new and major works by four artists: Lee Hae-min-seon, Lee Jeong-u, Jeon Hyeon-seon and Hong Jin-hwon. There may be queues to enter some galleries.
Registration opened at 2 p.m. on the 4th on the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s website. Free members, “MMCA Friends,” and paid members, “MMCA Family” and “Family+,” are eligible to apply. The fee is 15,000 won per person, and each person may book up to two tickets. Tickets can be canceled through the 17th, the day before the event.

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