Seoul is turning its plazas and palaces into a giant winter wonderland for the Seoul Winter Festa, a 24-day celebration of light shows, skating and K-culture that drew more than five million visitors last year.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday it will host a large-scale winter festival in December, along with city-wide cultural experiences and interactive performances.
Also known as Seoul Winter Festa, the city government will showcase its winter festivities from Dec. 12 to Jan. 4 across six major locations in the capital: Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Plaza and Bosingak in central Seoul, Dongdaemun Design Plaza in eastern Seoul and Uicheon in northern Seoul.
The Seoul Winter Festa will kick off on Dec. 12 under the title “Fantasia Seoul,” with an opening ceremony featuring dance and musical performances, a light show and a parade.
To signal the start of the 24-day-long festivities, the opening ceremony will also feature a light show featuring media art projected onto Gwanghwamun as well as a lighting ceremony of the Christmas market vendors and decorations at Gwanghwamun Plaza.
The light show projected on Gwanghwamun will be able to be viewed by visitors until Jan. 4, while the Christmas Market at Gwanghwamun Square will be open to visitors until Dec. 31. The city government added that media projections from four domestic and international artists will also be shown on the facade of DDP from Dec. 18 to Dec. 31.
Nearby, the Seoul Lantern Festival will also take place at Cheonggyecheon, featuring illuminated sculptures and media art installations that light up the waterway from Cheonggye Plaza all the way to Ogansugyo near DDP.
In Seoul Plaza, an ice rink will be open to the public from Dec. 19 through Feb. 8.
The highlight of the city’s New Year’s Eve ceremonies — the bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak — will also return on Dec. 31.
The city government stated that it will host several participatory contests ahead of the bell-ringing ceremony this year, including a competition for traditional dance and K-pop acts, a “winter sleeping contest,” street parades and a silent K-pop dance party with wireless headphones.
In addition to the New Year’s countdown at Bosingak, the DDP will also host its own countdown program.
Cultural venues across Seoul will also join in on the winter festivities.
At Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, classic holiday performances such as "The Nutcracker" and other opera galas will take the stage. Museums in the city will also hold seasonal exhibitions, including an exhibition of photos by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky at the Seoul Museum of History.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
