It'll be elegant with light! "Seoul Light Gwanghwamun" opens on the 12th.
- Bono Ahn
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Seoul Metropolitan Government l Seoul in the palm of your hand
12/12/2026 ~ 1/4/2026, 24 days, Gwanghwamun Square area
This winter, Gwanghwamun Square will be awash in light. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will host "2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun," a massive media façade exhibition, at Gwanghwamun Square, beginning with an opening ceremony on December 12th and running until January 4th of next year .
Seoul Light Gwanghwamun, held for the fourth time this year, is themed 'Gwanghwa, Breathe with Light' and features a variety of attractions including ▴Gwanghwamun Media Facade Exhibition, ▴Fortune.exe Light Sculpture, and ▴Sejong Pavilion Media Art, with 16 artists participating. A 2026 New Year's countdown event will also be held.
Gwanghwamun Media Facade Exhibition Featuring World-Class Artists
The Media Facade exhibition will feature renowned domestic and international artists , including Doug Aitken, winner of the Venice Biennale's Golden Lion and a master of international media art, as well as TZUSOO, Aplan Company, and The First Gate . The exhibition will run for eight to nine sessions, each lasting 24 minutes, and will also feature an interactive program where citizens can strike a drum themselves.
Doug Aitken presents 'SONG 1', a work expressing the rhythm and emotions of the city based on the rhythm and blues pop song 'I Only Have Eyes for You'.
Chusu, an artist participating in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's 'MMCA×LG OLED' series, connects tradition and modernity through 'Are You Sleeping?', a playful work in which the sun and the moon exchange text messages.
Also on display are A Plan Company's "Feast of Lights," which expresses the new landscape of Gwanghwamun and the energy of Seoul through laser drawing performance, and The First Gate's "Gesture Pop!" which combines sign language gestures with the message, "People are the hope and future of Seoul" to express participation, inclusion, and a sense of community.
A media art and citizen participation exhibition combining tradition and modernity at Gwanghwamun Square.
The plaza that runs from the north side of the Statue of King Sejong to Gwanghwamun will feature a 26-meter-tall giant light sculpture that reinterprets the world-famous Ilwolobongdo and traditional Korean Dancheong architecture through Kedeheon, as well as a colorful lighting installation that combines light and music called 'Fortune.exe. '
'Fortune.exe' reinterprets the structural beauty of the traditional Dancheong of Ilwolobongdo, and consists of Everyware's 'Triangle, Square Square Square' work, which features changing light on windows and doors, and 'The Night When Hope Blooms,' a lighting art piece that combines a splendid laser and light show and immersive sound.
Additionally, a citizen participation program called 'Ilwol Obongdo Wish Wall' will be operated, where citizens will complete the wall by placing their wish tiles for 2026 within the artwork .
Additionally, an LED media screen called the 'Sejong Pavilion' will be installed right in front of the north side of the statue of King Sejong , where works by six invited domestic and international artists and five artists selected through an international competition will be displayed, and citizens will participate together to select the best work.
'Sejong Pavilion' is a three-dimensional digital stage consisting of a 10-meter wide and 6-meter tall LED wall and a 6-meter floor LED.
The six invited artists, Joel Mesler, Moon Hyun-seok, Kim Young-tae, Yeorae, Je Woo-jin, and Hwang Yu-geun, will present works that reinterpret light and the city. The works of five artists who entered the contest and whose winning works were selected through expert evaluation and public voting will also be exhibited.
Gwanghwamun New Year's Countdown Event
At midnight on December 31st, a countdown event will be held in collaboration with public and private organizations in the Gwanghwamun Free Zone to welcome the New Year 2026, the Year of the Red Horse . This event will offer a special experience as you welcome Seoul's first day in the vibrant and historic space of Gwanghwamun.
Nine institutions, including Gwanghwamun, Sejong Pavilion, National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, Seoul Shinmun, KT building, Ilmin Museum of Art, Dong-A Ilbo, Koreana Hotel, and Seongwang Building, will participate in the countdown, which will simultaneously broadcast the New Year's countdown and display media art to welcome the New Year on outdoor electronic billboards.
Additionally, the countdown event will be followed by the 'Gwanghwamun Fashion Road' , a hanbok fashion show , and a light dance performance from 11 p.m. to midnight .
Detailed information about the '2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun' event can be found on the official Seoul Light Gwanghwamun website and Instagram (@mediaartseoul) .
Meanwhile, as the city of Seoul anticipates that a large crowd will flock to the site during the event, it will deploy safety management personnel along the main route of the artwork and work closely with related organizations such as fire stations, police stations, and nearby hospitals to ensure safety in case of any safety accidents.
We will concentrate our security personnel in crowded areas such as the Gwanghwamun Media Facade viewing area and crosswalks, secure access routes for fire and emergency vehicles, and operate a comprehensive situation room to thoroughly prepare for emergencies.
2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun |
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○ Period: December 12, 2025 - January 4, 2026 ○ Location: Gwanghwamun Square area ○ Operating Hours: Sun-Thu 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM / Fri-Sat 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM ○ Website: Seoul Light Gwanghwamun |
[Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government]
