This undated supplied photograph exhibits Cheonggye Stream crowded with individuals throughout the 2025 Seoul Lantern Competition in Seoul, December 2025. Courtesy of Seoul Tourism Group
The 2025 Seoul Lantern Competition, which has drawn a document 2.77 million guests in its first 20 days, can be prolonged by two weeks by means of Jan. 18 alongside central Seoul’s Cheonggye and Ui streams, in line with the Seoul Tourism Group.
Held below the theme “My Mild, Our Dream, Seoul’s Magic,” the annual nighttime occasion has loved booming reputation amongst each locals and worldwide vacationers with its mix of conventional hanji paper lanterns and immersive media artwork set up that remodel the downtown waterway right into a glowing hall.
Initially scheduled to finish Sunday, Jan. 4, the pageant will now proceed by means of Jan. 18 between Cheonggye Plaza and Samil Bridge, a 1.1-kilometer stretch within the coronary heart of town, organizers mentioned. The pageant can be closed on Monday for upkeep and rearrangement of installations earlier than reopening the subsequent day.
The extension follows a roughly 60 % improve in guests from the earlier yr. Metropolis officers view the pageant as a signature winter attraction, a part of broader efforts to spice up nighttime tourism and to diversify experiences past standard sightseeing.
Solely the primary Cheonggye Stream part can be prolonged, whereas lantern shows alongside Ui Stream will shut as initially deliberate on Monday. Widespread installations resembling “I LOVE Magikarp,” created in collaboration with Pokemon Korea, the fire-breathing “Wings of Goals” and “Hwanwol,” a moon jar sculpture produced from discarded automotive headlights, may even be taken down that day.
Of their place, a brand new large-scale gentle work titled “Magical Lights Strolling By means of Seoul” will debut within the prolonged part.
The pageant runs every day from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. It initially closed at 10 p.m., however organizers pushed again the closing time by one hour on Dec. 16 to accommodate rising demand from workplace staff visiting after work and rising curiosity in nighttime cultural actions.
