The name Centre Pompidou, the iconic Parisian arts complex, has surfaced with striking frequency in Korea’s art world over the past few years. At the center of the buzz is the opening of the Centre Pompidou Hanwha, the French landmark’s first outpost in Korea. The four-story space — designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the same architect behind renovations at the Louvre — will occupy parts of the 63 Square skyscraper in Yeouido, Seoul. With access to Europe’s largest collection of modern and contemporary art, the Seoul branch will debut in June with a selection of Cubist masterworks, headlined by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Yet Seoul may not be the country’s only metropolis to claim the Pompidou name. In 2024, Busan Metropolitan City unveiled plans to establish its own branch in an effort to boost the port city’s global profile. The two parties aim to conclude final negotiations by March 31. If realized, the presence of two Pompidou outposts in a single country would be without precedent — one backed by a corporate partnership, the other driven by the municipal governm