Lights & nightSeoul

Seoul Winter Festa 2024 in Seoul, South Korea

서울윈터페스타 2024

Dec – Jan2024
13 –5
Fri–Sun Varies by programme: Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 18:00–22:00
Past edition

13 December 2024 to 5 January 2025 · Varies by programme: Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 18:00–22:00; Seoul Light DDP 19:00–21:30; Seoul Plaza ice rink 10:00–21:30 Sun–Fri and 10:00–23:00 Sat and holidays

This edition has ended. It is kept as a record of what the 2024 festival offered. The current information is on the Seoul Winter Festa page (Expected Dec/Jan 2026–27).

Venue this year. Gwanghwamun and Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Plaza, DDP and Bosingak (six central sites per Seoul's Chinese newsletter)

Dates13 Dec – 5 Jan 2025
HoursVaries by programme: Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 18:00–22:00; Seoul Light DDP 19:00–21:30; Seoul Plaza ice rink 10:00–21:30 Sun–Fri and 10:00–23:00 Sat and holidays
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)
AdmissionEntry: Free · Seoul Plaza ice rink, one hour: ₩1,000
Previous edition2023: 15 Dec – 21 Jan 2024
Next edition2025: 12 Dec – 4 Jan 2026

Program

  • Theme 'SOUL PRISM'; general director Yang Jeong-ung
  • 13 Dec–5 JanSeoul Light Gwanghwamun and Gwanghwamun Market; 13 Dec–12 Jan: Seoul Lantern Festival on Cheonggyecheon
  • 19–31 DecSeoul Light DDP; 28 Dec–1 Jan: SeoulCon at DDP, with its countdown ending at 02:00 on 1 Jan
  • 20 Dec–9 FebSeoul Plaza ice rink
  • 21 DecSquid Game season 2 parade of about 500 people over about 1 km from Seoul Plaza to Gwanghwamun
  • 31 DecBosingak bell-ringing from 23:35, 33 strokes, with a 30 m 'midnight sun' behind the pavilion and 15,000 LED wristbands in the crowd

Prices

ItemPriceNote
EntryFreeFree except the ice rink
Seoul Plaza ice rink, one hour₩1,000

Notes on the 2024 edition

5,388,163 visits in 24 days, with the daily average about 19% above 2023. Bosingak drew 32,000 on New Year's Eve (97,000 a year earlier), Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 746,280, Seoul Light DDP 775,719 and the rink 70,217 by the city's January report.

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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