Seoul Christmas Lights 2026: Shinsegae, The Hyundai, Lotte

If you’re after Seoul Christmas lights, start with the media facade on the outer wall of the Shinsegae Department Store main branch in Myeongdong. Last year it switched on November 7 and ran until January 31, every day from 5 pm to midnight, and it’s free because you watch from the street.

Almost nothing for 2026 has been announced as of October 15. So the dates below are last year’s, and I’ll fix this post as soon as this year’s come out. Department store shows change every year, so check each store’s own notice before you go.

Seoul Christmas lights: what were last year’s dates?

I put last year’s dates and hours in one table. There’s no guarantee they’ll match this year.

Place	2025 dates	Hours	How to get in
Shinsegae Square media facade (Myeongdong)	Nov 7 to Jan 31	17:00-24:00	Free from the street
Lotte Department Store main branch exterior (Myeongdong)	Oct 31 to Dec 31	17:30-23:00	Free from the street
The Hyundai Seoul Christmas village (Yeouido)	Nov 1 to Dec 31	Weekdays 10:30-20:00, weekends until 20:30	Advance reservation or on-site queue
Lotte Town Christmas market (Jamsil)	Nov 20 to Jan 4	11:30-22:00	Paid entry after 16:00
Starfield COEX Mall Starfield Library tree	Nov 13 to Jan 31	10:30-22:30	Free
Seoul Plaza Christmas tree	Nov 17 to Jan 1	Not confirmed	Free

The sources are the Seoul city government, the VISITKOREA English article, and department store announcements and news reports. One guide listed the Lotte main branch end date as December 25, but I followed the VISITKOREA article.

Where should you watch the Shinsegae media facade?

Stand across the street in front of the Seoul Central Post Office, at Exit 1 of the Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center. A Shinsegae staff member named it in the VISITKOREA article, and you get the screen and the fountain out front in one view.

This spot got a little better this year. The city and Jung-gu swapped the railing at this underpass exit for clear glass in July, reportedly so the railing doesn’t block the screen.

Last year’s show was a three-minute piece called “A Magical World Connecting Time.” The screen measures 1,353.64 square meters, 61.3 square meters bigger than the year before, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. When the video ends, the same show starts again from the top, so if you miss it, a short wait fixes that.

To get there, it’s 232 m from Exit 7 of Hoehyeon Station on Line 4 (per the Seoul Tourism Organization). The address is 63 Sogong-ro, Jung-gu.

What’s new at Lotte Department Store’s main branch?

This is practically the only place with an announcement for this year. Lotte Department Store’s main branch is putting up a new media facade called “Lotte Town Light” on the outer wall of its Young Plaza building, 77 m wide and 21 m tall. In July it said it would run a teaser video in November and switch it on properly in December (reported by Hankyung and ZDNet Korea).

At 1,614 square meters, it’s reportedly bigger than Shinsegae Square. The exact start date and hours haven’t been released. They’re also preparing Christmas decorations linking the main building, Avenuel and Young Plaza.

Last year’s theme was “Sweet Holiday,” with 30,000 LEDs and a 13 m tree. It’s in Myeongdong like Shinsegae, so it’s easy to see the two back to back. The address is 81 Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu.

Do you need a reservation for The Hyundai Seoul Christmas village?

Last year, you either booked in advance on Naver or registered in the on-site queue with a QR code on the day. They took about 2,500 people a day, 30% by advance reservation and 70% on site (ZDNet Korea).

The first round of advance reservations opened at 6 pm on October 23 and sold out in 30 minutes. So if this year is similar, the end of October is the crunch. On-site queue registration starts at 11:30 am each day through QR codes on each floor, limited to four people per account or card (VISITKOREA article).

If you’re a foreign visitor without a Korean phone number, you can get a paper queue ticket at the 5th-floor entrance. Last year’s theme was “Harry’s Christmas Workshop,” with a forest, Santa’s house and a letter workshop built in Sounds Forest on the 5th floor. I couldn’t find the admission fee in any official material.

The Lotte World Tower Christmas market in Jamsil

Last year it ran from November 20 to January 4, every day from 11:30 am to 10 pm, on the lawn of World Park at Lotte World Tower. There was a 13 m tree, a snow shower five times a day and a carousel on the 2nd floor.

Entry was paid after 4 pm. The fast pass you could buy ahead was sold through Naver reservation, and the first batch reportedly sold out in 10 minutes. Ticket types and prices change by time slot, so go by this year’s notice.

From mid-December: Gwanghwamun and Cheonggyecheon too

Seoul Winter Festa and the Seoul Lantern Festival, the city’s winter festivals, started on December 12 last year. The Lantern Festival was free, from 6 pm to 10 pm along the stretch from Cheonggye Plaza to Samil Bridge.

This year’s schedule isn’t out yet. Last year it was announced on November 24. Myeongdong to Cheonggyecheon is a walkable distance, so if you’re here after mid-December, you can fit both into one evening.

What visitors said

For Myeongdong, I found posts from one English-language writer based in Korea, covering two years in a row. For The Hyundai Seoul, I found one more English blog post. I only used English-language blogs this time.

On December 23, 2024, a writer at liminality.org got off at Hoehyeon Station right after sunset, but the crowd in front of Shinsegae was so thick that they only got a photo from the railing on the opposite sidewalk. The fountain lights changed with the colors on the screen, and Lotte felt calmer and more classic than Shinsegae.

In December 2025, the same writer walked on a mild evening of around 12 degrees, from Shinsegae to the Lotte main branch, Myeongdong Street, Myeongdong Cathedral and the Cheonggyecheon lantern festival, in that order. They wrote that Myeongdong Street was packed with street stalls and people.

For The Hyundai Seoul, a post dated December 5, 2025 on Seoul Searching, a blog by a trio who moved to Korea in 2009, says weekends are the busiest and it usually thins out later in the evening. Each cottage is a photo zone with its own wait, and they say it’s mostly photo spots rather than a traditional market. The blog also mentions the paper ticket at the entrance for people without a Korean phone number or KakaoTalk.

Reality check

Brace yourself for Myeongdong on Christmas Eve. Last year the Jung-gu District Office expected up to 50,000 people on Christmas Eve and ran special crowd management from December 24 to 27 and December 31 to January 1. This year Christmas falls on a Friday, so it runs straight into the weekend.

Pro tip: leave the car at home. A report said the top-selling parking passes at the end of last year were for spots near the Shinsegae and Lotte main branches, which tells you how many people drive.

On-site waiting at The Hyundai reportedly stretched to two hours in mid-December. I can’t promise weekday daytime is any quieter, because there’s no official data on it.

I’m collecting other festival schedules under festivals and events. If you’re heading to Busan in early November, the Busan Fireworks Festival on November 7 is worth a look too. I’ll fill in this year’s lighting dates as they come out, and yes, I’ll be the one refreshing the department store notices.