All year: ceremonies and shows you can see any week

Not every reason to go is a festival with dates. These ceremonies and shows run on a fixed weekly schedule, all year or through the same months every year, so they are not in the calendar or the month lists. Check the days they are held and the weather rules before you go: most are outdoors and called off in heavy rain or extreme heat or cold.

Held all year

The curved aluminium façade of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), where DDP 365 Light is held, lit up at night All year
All year
Daily
regular schedule
LightsSeoulFree

DDP 365 Light

DDP 365 Light (DDP 365라이트) is a free outdoor laser, light and sound show of about 5 minutes at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul, played every evening since September 2026 beside the exhibition of excavated remains on Eoullim Plaza. Shows start every 30 minutes, on the hour and the half-hour, until the last at 22:00; the first is at 18:00 from November to February, 19:00 in March–April and September–October, and 20:00 from May to August.

The royal guard changing ceremony at Daehanmun Gate of Deoksugung Palace in 2017 All year
All year
Tue–Sun
regular schedule
TraditionSeoulFree

Deoksugung Royal Guard Changing Ceremony

The Deoksugung Royal Guard Changing Ceremony (서울 왕궁수문장 교대의식) is a free re-enactment of the Joseon-era changing of the palace gate guard, staged by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in front of Daehanmun, the main gate of Deoksugung Palace in central Seoul. It runs all year, Tuesday to Sunday at 11:00 and 14:00, with no ceremony on Mondays; each run lasts roughly 20 minutes and can be cancelled or cut short in heavy rain or snow and in extreme heat or cold.

The royal guard changing ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace in 2012 All year
All year
Wed–Mon
regular schedule
TraditionSeoulFree

Gyeongbokgung Royal Guard Changing Ceremony

The Gyeongbokgung Royal Guard Changing Ceremony (경복궁 수문장 교대의식) is a free re-enactment of Joseon-era palace guards changing shifts, staged at Gwanghwamun Gate and in the Heungnyemun forecourt of Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul. It runs all year, every day except Tuesday, at 10:00 and 14:00 (about 20 minutes each), with a 10-minute gate-guard ceremony at 11:00 and 13:00 and a public drill at 09:35 and 13:35.

The beacon towers on Namsan in Seoul, where the ceremony is held All year
All year
Tue–Sun
regular schedule
TraditionSeoulFree

Namsan Beacon Fire Lighting Ceremony

The Namsan Beacon Fire Lighting Ceremony is a free re-enactment, run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, of the Joseon-era smoke signal on the restored Mongmyeoksan beacon mound beside N Seoul Tower, on the summit of Namsan. It is held Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 12:10, with the beacon lit at noon, and a samulnori and traditional martial-arts show follows on Palgakjeong Plaza from 15:00 to 15:40; there is no ceremony on Mondays or on Seollal and Chuseok days.

Gate guards at Sungnyemun in Seoul in 2007 All year
All year
Tue–Sun
regular schedule
TraditionSeoulFree

Sungnyemun Gate Guard Ceremony

The Sungnyemun Gate Guard Ceremony (숭례문 파수의식) is a free re-enactment of the Joseon-era watch over Seoul's city gates, staged by the Seoul Metropolitan Government at Sungnyemun (Namdaemun), a few minutes' walk from Seoul Station. It runs Tuesday to Sunday all year: the gate is ceremonially opened at 10:00 and closed at 15:30–15:40, guards keep watch and change shifts in between (with a break from 12:00 to 13:00), and a patrol leaves for Namdaemun Market at 11:20.

Gwangan Bridge at night, seen from Marine City; the drone show flies over this bay All year
All year
Saturdays
regular schedule
LightsBusanFreeAbout 2 h 40 min from Seoul

Gwangalli M Drone Light Show

The Gwangalli M Drone Light Show is a free drone show over the sea at Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong-gu, Busan, with the lit Gwangan Bridge behind it, held every Saturday evening since April 2022. There are two shows of about 12 minutes each night: 19:00 and 21:00 from October to February, 20:00 and 22:00 from March to September.

Seasonal, on a weekly schedule

Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall in April 2014; the ice rink is built here each winter Seasonal
Dec–Feb
Daily
next season Dec
FamilySeoul

Seoul Plaza Ice Skating Rink

The Seoul Plaza Ice Skating Rink (서울광장 스케이트장) is the outdoor rink Seoul city builds every winter on Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, open daily for about 52 days from the week before Christmas into February (19 December 2025–8 February 2026); the city has said the next season opens on 18 December 2026. Skating runs in one-hour sessions from 10:00, the last ending at 21:30 Sunday to Friday and 23:00 on Saturdays and public holidays.

The opening ceremony of the Uijeongbu-ji Historic Site Plaza, where the programme is held, on 12 September 2024 Seasonal
Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
Saturdays
regular schedule
TraditionSeoulFree

Uijeongbuji Traditional Culture Programme

The Uijeongbuji Traditional Culture Programme (의정부지 상설 전통문화행사) is Seoul city's free Saturday show on the Uijeongbu-ji Historic Site Plaza, the excavated site of the Joseon State Council just east of Gwanghwamun Gate. It runs twice each Saturday, 11:00–12:00 and 14:00–15:00, from April to October with a break in the June–August heat; the 2026 season ends on 31 October.

A namsadang troupe performing in 2008 (not necessarily the Anseong troupe that gives this show) Seasonal
Apr–Nov
Sat–Sun
regular schedule
TraditionAnseongAbout 1 h 3 min from Seoul

Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Weekend Show

The Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Weekend Show (안성 남사당바우덕이 풍물단 상설공연) is the city troupe's 90-minute programme of namsadang nori — drumming, tightrope walking about 3 m up, bowl spinning, tumbling, mask dance and puppetry — staged in the round Namsadang hall at Anseong Machum Land, Gyeonggi-do. It runs every Saturday and Sunday at 14:00 from April to November (4 April–29 November in 2026).