A media show lights up Gyeongbok Palace throughout the opening ceremony of the Seoul Winter Festa at Gwanghwamun Sq. in Seoul, Friday. Newsis
A kaleidoscope of sunshine, music and tradition will remodel the Korean capital right into a winter wonderland this month, because the 2025 Seoul Winter Festa — one of many metropolis’s signature seasonal celebrations — opened on Dec. 12 below the theme “Fantasia Seoul.”
Connecting six of Seoul’s most iconic downtown spots — Gwanghwamun Sq., Cheonggye and Ui Streams, Seoul Plaza, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), and Bosingak Pavilion — the competition weaves collectively gentle artwork, Ok-culture and interactive packages designed to enchant Seoulites and worldwide guests alike. The occasion runs by Jan. 4.
Korean conventional music performers carrying neon lights parade at Gwanghwamun Sq. in Seoul throughout the opening ceremony of the Seoul Winter Festa, Dec. 12. Yonhap
Metropolis bathed in gentle
The competition kicked off with a spectacular ceremony at Gwanghwamun Sq., the place a whole bunch of residents counted all the way down to the grand lighting of a media façade projected in opposition to the primary gate to Gyeongbok Palace in mesmerizing shade.
Forward of the illumination, the Fantasia Mild Parade marched by the sq., that includes LED efficiency crews, conventional Korean dancers and musical actors together with Choi Jong-won, Lee Jin-hyuk and Joo Min-jin. Greater than 180 citizen performers joined a choir to mark the competition’s opening, celebrated as considered one of Seoul’s most inclusive cultural gatherings.
“Seoul Mild Gwanghwamun 2025,” turned the historic space into an open-air canvas for shifting artwork. American visible artist Doug Aitken, a Venice Biennale Golden Lion laureate, collaborated on the undertaking with Korean designers to reinterpret his signature works for the town’s skyline.
The set up, titled “Gwanghwa, Breathe with Mild,” runs nightly till Jan. 4, projecting waves of shifting colours and poetic animations throughout close by structure.
Lanterns gentle up Cheonggye Stream in Seoul, Dec. 11, on the eve of the 2025 Seoul Lantern Pageant. Yonhap
Wonderland of Ok-culture
The Seoul Metropolitan Authorities mentioned this 12 months’s occasion goals to be a “competition by and for residents,” selling participation by occasions that invite each play and relaxation. Actions embrace the whole lot from Ok-performance competitions to quirky contests just like the “Hibernation Problem,” the place members compete to see who can nap the longest. The weird occasion drew over 3,500 candidates for simply 40 spots, reflecting its viral recognition.
Elsewhere, the town’s waterways have turn out to be glowing rivers of sunshine. The seventeenth Seoul Lantern Pageant on Cheonggye and Ui Streams, themed “My Mild, Our Dream, the Magic of Seoul,” options 500 lantern sculptures and experimental gentle installations stretching from Cheonggye Plaza to Samil Bridge.
Scenes of KPop Demon Hunters, Korean folklore, historical past and world friendship shine alongside the stream, with illuminated recreations of landmarks from Prague’s astronomical clock to Taipei’s night time markets.
Lights glow on the Gwanghwamun Market stalls at Gwanghwamun Sq. in Seoul because the Seoul Winter Festa kicks off, Dec. 12. Yonhap
Festive markets and skating magic
Over at Gwanghwamun Sq., the Santa Village market attracts throngs with handmade crafts, world snacks and themed photograph zones impressed by the Nutcracker ballet and gingerbread homes.
A 15-meter-tall Christmas tree and a Rudolph carousel evoke nostalgia and heat, whereas “meet Santa” photograph classes scheduled from Dec. 21 to 25 are anticipated to draw households and vacationers. Main manufacturers together with Barbour and Nespresso have joined the celebration with pop-up shows and tasting cubicles.
The size of this 12 months’s festivities is spectacular. Between Dec. 12 and 14, greater than a million folks visited the market and Seoul Lantern Pageant, metropolis officers mentioned.
In the meantime, Seoul Plaza is as soon as once more opening its yearly standard ice skating rink from Friday by Feb. 8, with Olympic determine skaters Cha Jun-hwan and Shim Suk-hee attending the opening ceremony.
An ice skating rink is being put in at Seoul Plaza in Jung District, Seoul, Dec. 14. Newsis
Staying true to its civic spirit, the rink maintains its long-standing entry payment of 1,000 received, unchanged since its debut in 2004. Particular classes will promote winter sports activities comparable to luge and bobsleigh, whereas the Native Market Zone provides regional meals and merchandise.
Worldwide guests who maintain a Uncover Seoul Cross can skate free of charge and obtain reductions at taking part competition websites.
DDP shines vibrant with creativity
The futuristic landmark of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, generally recognized by its initials DDP, will host the Seoul Mild DDP media artwork present from Dec. 18 to 31, illuminating its sweeping aluminum façade with animated collaboration that includes Seoul’s cartoon mascot Haechi, LINE Mates and different world icons.
Including digital glamour, SEOULCon, held between Dec. 29 and Jan. 1, will carry collectively greater than 3,500 influencer groups from 56 international locations to showcase Ok-content, together with the APAN Star Awards and World Ok-pop Pageant.
All through the competition interval, Ok-pop dance events, busking exhibits and avenue parades will enliven the downtown space. The Ok-Efficiency Competitors provides winners the prospect to carry out on the extremely anticipated Bonsigak bell ringing ceremony on New 12 months’s Eve.
The New 12 months’s bell-ringing ceremony takes place at Bosingak Pavilion in Jongno District, Seoul, Jan. 1, marking the primary day of 2025. Newsis
Ringing in new 12 months
The Dec. 31 countdown at Bosingak, the Joseon period belfry in central Seoul, will mix centuries-old ritual with digital artistry.
For the primary time, a media facade can be projected on the bell pavilion’s tiled roof, visualizing sound waves from the resonant 33 tolls that can welcome 2026. A dynamic LED dance efficiency, themed “The 12 months of the Pink Horse,” precedes the midnight bell-ringing, main right into a high-energy rock stage by famed band Crying Nut.
On the identical time, DDP will host another countdown get together mixing DJ units and visible artwork projections, making a haven for the town’s youth and night time owls.
“From the glowing streets of Gwanghwamun to the joyful bustle of Seoul Plaza, we hope these moments carry heat and inspiration to everybody spending winter in our metropolis,” Kim Tae-hee, the town’s tradition headquarters chief mentioned.
