2025 Seoul Lantern Festival: A Winter Walk With Lights in Downtown Seoul
Last Updated on January 4, 2026
You might think winter nights in Seoul are quiet, best kept indoors, but head downtown to Cheonggyecheon Stream and Gwanghwamun Square and you’ll see dazzling lights glowing in the dark. The Seoul Lantern Festival (서울빛초롱축제) is an exhibition of traditional hanji lanterns and vivid LED installations on the most popular stream in downtown Seoul, Korea.
Free to visit, and perfect for slow night strolls and photos, the festival has run since 2009 and now draws millions each winter in Korea with displays and light shows. If you’ll be in Seoul this December, save the dates on your calendar and make sure to visit to see the colorful displays.
- 2025 Details: Dates, Hours, Locations
- What is the Seoul Lantern Festival?
- The Lights, The Lanterns, The Glow
- Seoul Events That Coincide
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2025 Details: Dates, Hours, Locations
When: December 12, 2025 ~ January 18, 2026*
Hours: 6:00pm ~ 10:00pm
Where: Cheonggyecheon Stream, Cheonggye Plaza, and Ui Stream as well as Gwanghwamun Square**
Address: 148 Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul (서울시 종로구 서린동 148)
Where To Start: The Cheonggyecheon Stream is an 11km long stream, but the installations are only at the beginning of it. Start at Cheonggye Plaza and you’ll walk towards Dongdaemun Station until the lanterns stop. It’s only about 15 minutes if you’re brisk, so if it’s really cold, don’t worry, it’s not too long.
*The 2024 edition ran even longer, extended through January 31, so keep an eye on late-season extensions and updates.
**The Seoul Lantern Festival used to be solely at Cheonggyecheon Stream, however in recent years, some of the lanterns were placed on Gwanghwamun Square as well. Because Winter Festa happens at the same time, you’ll likely be able to see installations from Gwanghwamun to Cheonggyecheon.
What is the Seoul Lantern Festival?
The Seoul Lantern Festival is Seoul’s signature winter light festival and features hundreds of hanji lanterns, media facades, and LED installations that celebrate Seoul’s seasons, palaces, and everyday life.
The event kicked off in 2009 and I still remember attending that first year as me and thousands of others onlookers braved the cold to enjoy the night lights. Each year, it’s gotten bigger, better, and since the lanterns change, you want to go every year to enjoy the scenes. Expect theme zones, photo spots, and occasional tie-ins with the Seoul Winter Festa in the same area.
Don’t be confused! There are two major lantern festivals in Seoul. The Seoul Lantern Festival is in the winter, while the Lotus Lantern Festival is in the spring. The spring event is also a must see, it features a parade of 100,000 lanterns.
The Lights, The Lanterns, The Glow
Some themes and lanterns repeat each year, while some are new, so you have to keep going back to see what’s changed. For 2025, the theme of the Seoul Lantern Festival is “My Light, Our Dream, the Magic of Seoul”.
The Highlights
The information will tell you that there are different zones, but they’re all connected and you’ll spot the next “zone” from the other, so don’t worry too much about that.
Media Wall and Palace Motifs: Seasonal city scenes and royal-palace imagery that glow across the water are always a popular sight. I love seeing the traditional gates and palace walls in lantern-art.
Global Landmarks and Magical Waves: Whales and sea life have been popular the past few years as lights have been added that seem to make it look as though the sealife is swimming along the stream.
Daily-Life Lanterns: Weddings, Hanbok details, and comfort foods have all been reimagined in lanterns of years past.
Our Favorite Cartoons: From Pororo to Spiderman, they’ve all been showcased at the Seoul Lantern Festival. If you have kids, they’ll definitely love seeing some of their favorite on-screen friends.
What To Wear: This is a winter festival in Korea and it is outside, so make sure you dress warmly. I wear my Uniqlo Heattech shirts and pants beneath my clothes all winter and highly recommend them. Top up with a scarf, hat, gloves, and a long parka along with boots, and you’ll be just fine.
Seoul Events That Coincide
Seoul Light (서울라이트)
In conjunction with the Seoul Lantern Festival, Seoul Light runs at the same time. This super fun media art exhibition sees art work on the facades of the front gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace as well as the Dongdaemun Design Plaza as the sun sets and into the night. You could easily plan to watch the light show and see the lanterns in the same evening if you’re dressed warmly and are ready to hit the streets.
- Seoul Light Gwanghwamun: December 12, 2025 ~ January 4, 2026
- Seoul Light Dongdaemun Design Plaza: December 18, 2025 ~ December 31, 2025
Winter Festa (윈터페스타)
The all encompassing Winter Festa brings all of the great winter events together under one umbrella. From the Seoul Lantern Festival to the Snowflake Plaza ice skating, Gwanghwamun Christmas Market, and Seoulcon, the Winter Festa is what to stay on top of if you’re coming to celebrate the holidays and want to celebrate to the max.
- Website: Winter Festa
The holiday season isn’t the same unless there are twinkle lights and lanterns. If you’re in Seoul in December, this is definitely a good way to get in the holiday spirit and enjoy the night.
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