Korea Winter Festivals & Light Shows 2026-27: Dates Tracker

Illuminated lantern displays and SEOUL letters at the Seoul Lantern Festival at night, from an earlier edition

Korea's winter lights don't come on all at once. Busan goes first, in the last week of November. Seoul flips its big switch on Friday, December 11, when Gwanghwamun Square, the Cheonggyecheon stream and Dongdaemun Design Plaza all light up on the same evening. Then in January the scene moves out to Gangwon Province, where rivers freeze solid and people sit on the ice with tiny fishing rods, waiting for a bite. This page keeps track of the dates for all of it, so you can plan a December or January trip around what's actually on.

Here's where things stand. Seoul's dates are all out: the citywide Seoul Winter Festival runs for 52 days, from December 11 to January 31, and the Seoul Plaza ice rink opens a week later, on December 18. In Busan, Christmas Village Busan opens on November 26 and the Haeundae Light Festival on November 28. Hwacheon's ice fishing festival is set for January 9 to 31, and the Daegwallyeong Snow Festival has a planned window of January 30 to February 9. Busan's Gwangbok-ro tree lights are now set for December 4 to January 31, and Pyeongchang has a planned January window. Taebaek and the Garden of Morning Calm haven't announced yet, so the table shows last season's dates for those, clearly labeled.

2026-27 dates at a glance

Korea winter festival dates, 2026-27 vs last season
Festival (where)	2026-27 dates	Last season
Seoul Light GwanghwamunGwanghwamun Square, Seoul	Dec 11 to Jan 10. Lights 6 to 11 p.m.	Dec 12, 2025 to Jan 4, 2026
Gwanghwamun MarketGwanghwamun Square, Seoul	Dec 11 to Jan 10. 5:30 to 10 p.m. (10:30 on Fri and Sat)	Dec 12 to 31, 2025
Seoul Lantern FestivalCheonggyecheon stream, Seoul	Dec 11 to Jan 31. Lights 6 to 11 p.m.	Dec 12, 2025 to Jan 18, 2026 (extended)
Seoul Light DDPDongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul	Dec 11 to Jan 31. Main media-facade show Dec 17 to 31	Dec 18 to 31, 2025
Seoul Plaza Ice RinkCity Hall, Seoul	Dec 18 to Feb 9. 1,000 won an hour, skates included	Dec 19, 2025 to Feb 8, 2026
Romantic Hangang Christmas MarketTtukseom Hangang Park, Seoul	Dec 24 to 27	Dec 19 to 25, 2025
Christmas Village BusanBusan Cinema Center, Busan	Nov 26 to Dec 25 (Thu to Sun, plus Dec 21 to 25). Paid tickets	About 450,000 visitors last year
Haeundae Light FestivalHaeundae Beach and Gunam-ro, Busan	Nov 28 to Jan 10 (district event calendar)	Nov 29, 2025 to Jan 18, 2026
Gwangbok-ro Winter Light Tree FestivalNampo-dong, Busan	Dec 4 to Jan 31. Lights 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. (district notice)	Dec 5, 2025 to Feb 22, 2026
Garden of Morning Calm Lighting FestivalGapyeong, Gyeonggi	Not announced	Dec 5, 2025 to Mar 15, 2026
Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice FestivalHwacheon, Gangwon	Jan 9 to 31	Jan 10 to Feb 1, 2026
Pyeongchang Trout FestivalJinbu, Pyeongchang, Gangwon	Jan 1 to 31, planned. Depends on the ice	Jan 9 to Feb 9, 2026 (pushed back from Jan 1)
Taebaek Snow FestivalTaebaeksan National Park, Gangwon	Not announced	Jan 31 to Feb 8, 2026
Daegwallyeong Snow FestivalDaegwallyeong, Pyeongchang, Gangwon	Jan 30 to Feb 9, planned	Feb 13 to 22, 2026

"Not announced" means the organizer hasn't posted a date yet. Dates without a year fall in the 2026-27 season. Feel free to reuse this table or the chart below; just credit A Korean's Take (CC BY 4.0).

Timeline chart of Korea winter festival and light show dates for 2026-27, Seoul, Busan, Gangwon and Gyeonggi

Festival periods for winter 2026-27, with last season's dates where this season's aren't out yet. Data: Seoul Winter Festival, Seoul's FUN SEOUL festival portal, Haeundae-gu, Busan Jung-gu, VisitKorea and the organizers, checked November 8, 2026. Chart: A Korean's Take (CC BY 4.0)

Seoul: one festival, seven parts

Seoul now bundles most of its winter events under one name, the Seoul Winter Festival. Last year it was called Seoul Winter Festa, so you'll see both names floating around. This season it covers Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Plaza, DDP, Bosingak and the Han River parks, and it's longer than last year's run, which wrapped up its main programs in early January. Opening night is Friday, December 11, on a special stage at Gwanghwamun Square, with a musical gala, a parade and a citizens' choir.

Gwanghwamun. Seoul Light Gwanghwamun turns the palace gate itself into a screen for media art and fills the north end of the square with light sculptures, every evening from 6 to 11 p.m. until January 10. It also hosts a countdown on New Year's Eve. At the south end of the square and in Sejongno Park, the Gwanghwamun Market sets up a Santa-village style Christmas market around a big tree, with stalls for handmade goods, seasonal knickknacks and food, plus photo zones. It's open 5:30 to 10 p.m., and until 10:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. One change worth knowing: last year the market closed on December 31, but this year it stays open until January 10, so a New Year visit works too.

Cheonggyecheon. The Seoul Lantern Festival lines the stream with traditional hanji paper lanterns and media-art light pieces, lit from 6 to 11 p.m. every night through January 31. This year's theme is "Seoul's romance: a symphony of light." The walkway beside the water is narrow, so weekend evenings move slowly. If you can, go on a weeknight.

Seoul Plaza. The ice rink in front of City Hall is one of the best deals in the city. A one-hour session costs 1,000 won, and that includes skates, a helmet and knee pads. It runs from December 18 to February 9, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 12:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve it stays open until 1 a.m. You can book online ahead of time or buy at the rink, and groups of 20 or more get 30% off. It's right outside City Hall Station, Exit 5.

DDP. Seoul Light DDP comes in three phases. Christmas decorations go up on December 11, the main media-facade show (a tie-up with Kakao Friends, the characters from Korea's biggest messaging app) runs December 17 to 31, and in January there's a nightly light show with regular performances through January 31. Planned hours are 6 to 10 p.m. DDP holds its own New Year's Eve countdown with performances and fireworks. From December 29 to January 1 the building also hosts SEOULCon, a fair for creators and influencers from around the world.

The Han River. The Romantic Hangang Christmas Market comes to Ttukseom Hangang Park from December 24 to 27. The festival's most unexpected idea this year is the Han River Night Sauna, a Finnish-style outdoor sauna under Cheongdam Bridge in Ttukseom, running December 24 to 31. Sign-ups haven't opened yet. And if you need proof that Seoul doesn't take itself too seriously, there's a winter sleeping contest at DDP on December 20, where heart-rate monitors pick the person who falls most deeply asleep.

Bosingak. The old bell in Jongno is rung 33 times as midnight strikes on December 31, with performances around it. It's the city's traditional New Year moment and gets very crowded.

Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggye Plaza (where the lantern route begins) and Seoul Plaza sit a short walk from each other, so one evening easily covers three of the seven. DDP is farther east, near Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. If you're new to the subway, my Seoul bus and subway guide covers cards and transfers.

Busan: lights by the sea

Christmas Village Busan takes over the outdoor plaza of the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City from November 26 to December 25. About 450,000 people came last year, and this year it switches to paid tickets to cut the lines. Read the calendar carefully: it opens Thursday to Sunday only, plus every day from December 21 to 25, which works out to 21 days in total. Weekday hours are 4 to 10 p.m., and weekends and December 24 and 25 run 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets cost 5,900 won on weekdays and weekend daytimes, 7,900 won on weekend evenings and 14,900 won on December 24 and 25. They're sold as mobile tickets through YES24.

Haeundae Light Festival is free and runs along Gunam-ro, the wide street from Haeundae Station down to the beach, and on the beach itself. Haeundae-gu's official event calendar lists the 13th edition for November 28 to January 10, so it ends about a week earlier than last season, which ran to January 18. Last year the lights were on from 6 to 11 p.m. The district hasn't published the full program yet.

Gwangbok-ro Winter Light Tree Festival is the old-downtown option, a street of decorated Christmas trees in Nampo-dong, a few minutes' walk from Nampo Station on Line 1. Busan's Jung-gu district has set this year's lights for Friday, December 4 through January 31, switched on from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., along Gwangbok-ro and up into the hillside sanbok road neighborhoods. Last season it ran from December 5 to February 22, and it was free.

Near Seoul: the Garden of Morning Calm

If you'd rather see lights in a garden than on a city street, the Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, a private arboretum northeast of Seoul, covers its grounds in LED lights every winter. Last season's lighting festival ran from December 5 to March 15. During the festival the garden says it opens 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with Saturdays until 11 p.m., and entry is paid. It hasn't announced this winter's dates yet.

January and February: the frozen-river festivals

Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is the big one, set for January 9 to 31. People fish through holes in the frozen Hwacheoncheon stream for sancheoneo (cherry salmon), try catching them bare-handed in icy water, ride sleds, and walk under a lantern-lined street at night. Last winter about 1.59 million people came over 23 days, including roughly 114,000 foreign visitors, according to the organizers.

Pyeongchang Trout Festival is listed by the Korea Tourism Organization for January 1 to 31, a plan that depends on the ice. Last season it ran from January 9 to February 9 on the Odaecheon stream in Jinbu, with ice fishing, tent fishing and bare-hand trout catching.

Daegwallyeong Snow Festival is planned for January 30 to February 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., according to the organizing committee's notice for food vendors. A firm announcement and ticket details should follow. Taebaek Snow Festival, with its big snow sculptures at Danggol Square in Taebaeksan National Park, ran from January 31 to February 8 last season and hasn't set this winter's dates.

One honest warning about ice festivals: they need cold weather, and they don't always get it. Last winter Pyeongchang had to push its opening from January 1 to January 9 because the ice on the stream hadn't reached its 20 cm safety standard. The organizers said it was the first time the festival had ever postponed its opening. Inje's smelt festival, held on an arm of Soyang Lake, was cancelled outright for a third winter in a row. Hwacheon, on the other hand, managed its water levels and kept the ice above 30 cm on average all season. If your trip depends on ice fishing, book something refundable and check the official notice the week before you go. On site, stay inside the marked areas. Pyeongchang, for one, measures its ice every day and opens the fishing grounds only when it passes.

Staying warm out there

Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year, which gives Korea a three-day weekend, so expect December 25 to 27 to be the busiest stretch in central Seoul, with the Hangang market running at the same time. Most of the evening events start around 5:30 or 6 p.m., right when the temperature drops. For something warm to hold between stops, look out for bungeoppang and hotteok carts.

A personal noteKorean winters are genuinely harsh. The festivals around Gwanghwamun mean a lot of walking outdoors, so I strongly recommend tucking one heat pack in your pocket and another in your shoe. That one heat pack decides whether you enjoy the festival or end up fleeing into a café.

How this page stays current

I check the organizers' pages every week through the season and change a row only when an organizer actually announces something. Last verified: November 8, 2026. If a date here and an official site ever disagree, trust the official site.

Sources

Seoul:

Busan:

Gangwon and Gyeonggi:

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Which one are you planning around this winter: the lights in Seoul, Busan by the sea, or a day sitting on a frozen river in Gangwon?

Top photo: Seoul Lantern Festival at night (earlier edition). Photo: Yu Kato / Unsplash, cropped.

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