A winter festival lighting up Gwanghwamun… "2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun" opens on the 12th.
- Bono Ahn
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Seoul News Agency | Reporter Song Kyung-shin
A variety of programs, including a large-scale media facade exhibition featuring world-renowned media artists, a countdown, light sculptures, and the Sejong Pavilion.
【Seoul = Seoul News Agency】 Reporter Song Kyeong-shin = This winter, Gwanghwamun Square will be bathed in light.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 9th that it will hold a large-scale media art festival, '2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun', at Gwanghwamun Square from the 12th of this month to January 4th of next year.
This year marks the fourth anniversary of the event, which features the theme of “Gwanghwamun, Breathing with Light,” with a total of 16 domestic and international artists participating to transform the Gwanghwamun Square area into a massive exhibition hall of light.
Starting with the lighting ceremony on the opening day, various contents will follow, such as the Gwanghwamun Media Facade exhibition, the 'Fortune.exe' light sculpture, and the Sejong Pavilion exhibition. At midnight on December 31, a countdown event to welcome the new year of 2026, the Year of the Horse, will also be held.
The most notable Gwanghwamun Media Facade exhibition features renowned domestic and international artists, including Doug Aitken, winner of the Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award, as well as TZUSOO, A Plan Company, and The First Gate.
The exhibition will be held 8-9 times a day, with each session lasting approximately 24 minutes, and an interactive program will also be provided in which citizens can start the performance by striking the drum themselves.
From the north side of the Statue of King Sejong across Gwanghwamun, a 26-meter-tall, giant light sculpture that reinterprets traditional Dancheong and the Ilwolobongdo in a modern way, along with a lighting piece that combines music and lighting, will be installed to capture the attention of visitors.
Additionally, the "Sejong Pavilion," an LED media screen installed on the north side of the King Sejong Statue, will showcase the works of six invited domestic and international artists and five winners of international competitions. Visitors will directly participate in selecting the best works, and the pavilion is expected to function as a citizen-participatory media art platform.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to establish Gwanghwamun as a representative winter festival by linking it with New Year's events through cooperation between the public, private, and institutional sectors within the Gwanghwamun Free Zone.
Information about the event can be found on the official website and Instagram (@mediaartseoul).
Choi In-gyu, Design Policy Officer for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, “We will combine cutting-edge media technology with world-class content to provide citizens and tourists with a special year-end and New Year’s experience harmonized with light and music.”
[Source: Seoul News Agency]