As winter settles over Seoul and the year comes to an end, the city turns into a glowing wonderland. From December 12, 2025 to January 4, 2026, the popular Seoul Lantern Festival is back to light up the heart of the capital along Cheonggyecheon and Uicheon streams with thousands of lanterns crafted from traditional Korean Hanji paper and softly lit using energy efficient LED lights. More than a visual spectacle, the festival offers a gentle way to mark the end of the year where tradition, sustainability and shared hopes come together.
Now in it's 17th year, the Seoul Lantern Festival has grown from a seasonal attraction into one of the city's most anticipated winter traditions. With free admission every evening from 6 p.m. to 11p.m., the festival offers a welcoming space for families, couples and explorers to stroll alongside illuminated lanterns against the cold winter air.
This year's theme - “My Light, Our Dreams, The Magic of Seoul” reflects a blend of individual hopes and collective imagination. Lanterns are not mere decorations, they symbolize personal dreams and the shared magic of community as Seoul prepares itself for a new year.
A Journey Through Light and Stories
The route of the festival goes along the Cheonggyecheon stream, starting near Cheonggye plaza then continues through scenic bridges and walkways. Along the way, visitors encounter four thematic zones including “Miracle Seoul, Golden Secret, Dream Light, and Seoul Fantasia” representing different visual stories about the historical background of Seoul to it's colorful present and future.
In addition to the classic lantern sculptures, the 2025 installations also features new media art, interactive lights, and huge installations that bring a magnificent blend of old artistry and new technology. This goes hand in hand with immersive light shows, and artistic exhibitions, both based on both local culture and international motifs and themes, which makes the festival a sensory and cultural experience of all ages.
Where Tradition Meets Modern Winter Festivity
Lanterns have long been associated with hope, guidance and new beginnings in many culture and Seoul's festival carries forward this symbolic legacy each winter. With lingering lights shining along the stream, visitors feel a sense of closure for the past year and anticipation for what lies ahead.
Beyond the lantern-lit walkway, the areas surrounding Cheonggyecheon also comes alive with winter celebrations, making the festival part of a larger year-end experience in Seoul. Just a short walk away, Gwanghwamun Square hosts winter markets and festive stalls under the Seoul Winter Festa, where visitors can enjoy warm drinks, handcrafted goods and cozy holiday decorations.
Streets around are full of Korean food stalls and pop-up vendors offering comforting winter favorites like hotteok, tteokbokki, fish cake soup and roasted chestnuts. These simple pleasures add warmth to the cold evenings, turning a lantern walk into a full sensory journey through Seoul's winter tradition.
The Seoul Lantern Festival is not just a visual event. Ever since it's beginning in 2009, it has become a place where art, tradition and community meet; where the warm glow of thousands of lights offers calm beauty on the long winter nights. To an international city where traditional and modernity meet, the festival represents the spirit of Seoul - a spirit that values memory, enjoys sharing dreams and hopes the future with light in every heart.
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