Travel
2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun opens Dec. 12
Haps Magazine Korea
December 9, 2025
(Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Government/Photo courtesy of Haps Magazine Korea)
Gwanghwamun Square will turn into a massive light canvas this winter when 2025 Seoul Light Gwanghwamun opens on December 12, running for 24 days through January 4.
The large-scale media art festival brings projection mapping, light sculptures, and interactive installations to one of Seoul’s most historic public spaces.
Now in its fourth edition, the festival runs under the theme “Gwanghwa, Breathe with Light,” featuring a lineup of 16 artists across multiple installations including a media-facade show at Gwanghwamun, the “Unsu Daetong-ro” light corridor, and Sejong Pavilion, a digital stage showing experimental media works.
The media-facade program will be screened multiple times nightly, with each session lasting around 26 minutes. Highlights include work from internationally acclaimed artist Doug Aitken, alongside Korean and international creators presenting media works rooted in urban rhythm, Korean symbolism, and digital experimentation.
Across the square, visitors can walk a reimagined Ilwol Obongdo, a symbolic Korean landscape motif, rebuilt as a 26-meter illuminated sculpture paired with music and laser visuals. An interactive “Wish Wall” lets visitors add their own tile for the coming year.
At the front of the Sejong statue, the Sejong Pavilion will show works by six invited artists and five competition finalists on a two-sided LED structure, with audience voting set to select a standout project.
On December 31, the festival will host a New Year countdown synchronized across the entire Gwanghwamun area, broadcasting a collective media performance across surrounding buildings including museums, hotels, and media headquarters.
To manage expected crowds, Seoul City plans on-site safety measures, joint response systems with nearby police, fire services and hospitals, and staff deployment along busy pathways.
More information is available on the festival’s official website and social channels.