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| ▲ This poster provided by Seoul City promotes the cultural big event, “Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 2025,” to be held Dec. 12, 2025, to Jan. 4, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Monday that it will launch “Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 2025” spurring to deliver a monumental stage of light, sound, and human connection.
Theming “Gwanghwa: Breathe with Light,” this year’s event will run Dec. 12 to Jan. 4. Since its launch in 2019, Seoul Light Gwanghwamun has become one of Seoul’s signature public art festivals, attracting more than two million visitors each year.
The festival will set up a city-wide media-art experiment linking Gwanghwamun Gate, the National Palace Museum, KT Building, and the headquarters of The Dong-A Ilbo and The Chosun Ilbo through synchronized light projections, immersive soundscapes, and interactive installations.
It will feature a number of leading Korean and international creators and artists, including contemporary visual artist Joel Mesler and world-renowned media artist Doug Aitken.
Aitken, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, is best known for “Sleepwalkers” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and “Song 1” at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington. During the event, the Gwanghwamun version of “Song 1” will be presented against the backdrop of Gwanghwamun.
The highlight of the program will be the “New Year’s Countdown Show,” which links digital signage across the outdoor advertising free zone in the Gwanghwamun area. It will mark the first time such a large-scale New Year’s countdown show has been attempted in South Korea.
The municipality of Seoul said in a press release, “We aim to create a new New Year’s countdown landmark suited to the digital generation,” adding, “We plan to develop it into a global outdoor performance on par with New York’s Times Square.”
Nighttime operating hours will vary between weekdays and weekends to allow citizens and tourists to enjoy the night scenery at a more leisurely pace.
The city said, “By combining cutting-edge media technology with world-class content in the historical and cultural space of Gwanghwamun, we aim to establish this as a signature year-end and New Year’s festival representing Seoul at night.”
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