Lights & nightSeoul

Seoul Winter Festa 2023 in Seoul, South Korea

서울윈터페스타 2023

Dec – Jan2023
15 –21
Fri–Sun Lighting ceremony at 18:00 on 15 December
Past edition

15 December 2023 to 21 January 2024 · Lighting ceremony at 18:00 on 15 December; daily hours varied by programme

This edition has ended. It is kept as a record of what the 2023 festival offered. The current information is on the Seoul Winter Festa page (Expected Dec/Jan 2026–27).

Venue this year. Seven sites: Gwanghwamun Square, Yeolin Songhyeon Green Square, Cheonggyecheon, DDP, Bosingak, Sejong-daero and Seoul Plaza

Dates15 Dec – 21 Jan 2024
HoursLighting ceremony at 18:00 on 15 December; daily hours varied by programme
WeatherDecember average 4/−3 °C (40/26 °F), 23 mm of rain
January average 2/−5 °C (36/22 °F), 17 mm of rainMonthly averages, not a forecast: Korea Meteorological Administration climate normals, 1991–2020, Seoul station.
VenueCentral Seoul: Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Plaza, Bosingak and Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)서울특별시 종로구 세종대로 172 (광화문광장)
AdmissionFree: the light shows, lanterns, market, countdowns and bell-ringing have no entry charge. The Seoul Plaza ice rink costs about ₩1,000 for a one-hour session, skates and helmet included.
Next edition2024: 13 Dec – 5 Jan 2025

Program

  • First editionwinter events previously held separately combined into one festival across seven sites
  • 15 Dec–21 JanSeoul Light Gwanghwamun, the Seoul Lantern Festival (Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon and Seoul Plaza) and the Gwanghwamun Square market
  • Songhyeon-dong Solbit Festival at Yeolin Songhyeon Green Square
  • 21–31 DecSeoul Light DDP and a DDP Christmas market; 30 Dec–1 Jan: SeoulCon at DDP
  • 22 Dec–11 FebSeoul Plaza ice rink
  • 31 Dec from 23:00countdown and bell-ringing from Bosingak to Sejong-daero, 33 strokes by 18 bell-ringers and a 12 m 'Midnight Sun' on Sejong-daero, the first citizen bell-ringing since COVID-19

Notes on the 2023 edition

About 7.4 million visitors in 38 days. Seoul Light Gwanghwamun drew 1,896,426 and Bosingak 97,000 on New Year's Eve.

About the festival

Seoul Winter Festa (서울윈터페스타) is the Seoul city government's free December–January umbrella festival in central Seoul, joining the Cheonggyecheon lanterns, the Gwanghwamun Market, the Seoul Light media-art shows at Gwanghwamun and DDP, the Seoul Plaza ice rink (about ₩1,000 an hour) and the New Year's Eve bell-ringing at Bosingak. The 2025 edition ran 12 December 2025–4 January 2026 and counted 10.98 million visits. The 2026 dates are not announced, but the Gwanghwamun Market has been moved to 11 December 2026–10 January 2027 to match it. Use Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5) or City Hall Station (Lines 1 and 2).

Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Seoul Winter Festa page, which covers every edition.

Source

Facts checked
18 October 2026, against the sources listed below.

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