# Seoul Plaza Ice Skating Rink 2026: Dec 18 Opening, Price, Booking

> The Seoul Plaza ice skating rink is the outdoor rink the city sets up in front of City Hall every winter. The 2026-27 season runs from December 18, 2026 to February 9, 2027. It costs 1,000 won per hour with skate and helmet rental included, and you can't get on the ice without gloves.

- URL: https://formthrow.com/en/festivals/seoul-plaza-ice-skating-rink/
- Published: October 18, 2026
- Updated: October 21, 2026
- Data as of: October 21, 2026
- Event details: Seoul Plaza Ice Skating Rink 2026-27; 2026-12-18 / 2027-02-09; Seoul Plaza, 서울특별시, 중구, 세종대로 110
- Official site: https://www.winta.co.kr/seoul-winter-festival/program-festivals

The Seoul Plaza ice skating rink is an outdoor rink that appears in front of City Hall every winter. It costs 1,000 won for an hour, and skates and a helmet are included, so it's one of the few winter activities in Seoul still sold at that price.

The 2026-27 season opens on Friday, December 18 and runs until Tuesday, February 9, 2027. It's right outside the exits of City Hall Station on Lines 1 and 2.

## When does the Seoul Plaza ice skating rink open in 2026?

On Friday, December 18. The program page of the official Seoul Winter Festival site lists it as December 18, 2026 to February 9, 2027, and the same page gives the price as 1,000 won an hour. The poster isn't ready and Seoul hasn't put out a press release, so the dates could still change.

Official portal updates for the upcoming season are finalized in early December alongside specific daily timetables.

Historical city schedules consistently position opening day on the third Friday of December. This year it again opens on the third Friday, and only the closing day, a Tuesday, is different. Last year the city announced it on December 16, three days before opening, so the timetable and booking news will probably show up around mid-December.

| | 2024-25 | 2025-26 (last year) | 2026-27 (this year) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dates | Dec 20, 2024 to Feb 9, 2025 | Dec 19, 2025 to Feb 8, 2026 | Dec 18, 2026 to Feb 9, 2027 |
| Sunday to Friday | 10:00-21:30 | 10:00-21:30 | Not announced |
| Saturdays and public holidays | 10:00-23:00 | 10:00-23:00 | Not announced |
| Price | 1,000 won | 1,000 won | 1,000 won |

The dates and hours for the past two years come from the city's Seoul Plaza notices, and this year's dates and price from the Winter Festival's official site. Last year, skating was free on the evening of the opening ceremony.

## What time are the sessions, and what does the price include?

One session is one hour, and the 30 minutes between sessions is for resurfacing the ice. Last year weekdays had eight sessions, the first starting at 10 am and the last at 8:30 pm, and Saturdays and public holidays added a 10 pm one.

| Session | Time |
| --- | --- |
| Sessions 1-4 | Start at 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, 14:30 |
| Sessions 5-8 | Start at 16:00, 17:30, 19:00, 20:30 |
| Session 9 (Saturdays, public holidays) | 22:00-23:00 |
| Extra (Dec 24 and 31) | 23:30 to 00:30 the next day |

The 1,000 won covers skate and helmet rental, and knee pads were free too (Seoul city announcement). The price is said to be unchanged since the rink first opened in 2004. People aged 65 and over, people with disabilities, national merit recipients and basic livelihood recipients pay half for up to one hour a day if they bring proof (this year's official site). What costs extra is gloves, a locker and lessons. A lesson is 50 minutes, and a Seoul citizen reporter wrote that small groups are capped at three people.

## How do I book, and are there walk-up tickets?

Last year each session sold 300 tickets online and 300 at the rink. Online sales opened 7 days before the day you want to skate. Refunds were possible until 11:59 pm the day before, and walk-up tickets could be refunded until the session started (Seoul city announcement).

Domestic skaters commonly book blocks of up to six tickets via Naver Reservation as weekly ticket allocations open every Monday morning at 10:00. Verify the current season's digital release window on the portal before booking.

If you're coming from abroad, walk-up tickets are the easy route. You could buy them at the ticket booth by card with no account, and holders of the Discover Seoul Pass got in free. Online booking goes through Naver Reservation, which makes the booth the simpler option.

## Gloves, lockers and socks

You must have gloves. Without them you can't get on the ice, and buying a pair on site was 1,500 won in a January 2026 review.

Lockers are 1,000 won per use and take only two 500 won coins. There was a machine next to them for changing bills into coins, so it's not a big worry. One review also says to wear long socks so the rental skates don't rub your ankles.

The rink can close during emergency fine dust reduction measures, an ultra-fine dust warning, snow or rain. People with advance bookings got a text message, and the news was also shown on a screen outside the ticket booth.

## On-site operations: queue timing, gear requirements, and rules

Securing an on-site slot requires arriving well ahead of your target skating window.

Walk-up ticket distribution reserves 300 passes per one-hour time slot ([Seoul Plaza ticketing breakdown](https://seoulsearching.net/ice-skating-seoul-plaza)). On weekends and holiday evenings, immediate sessions sell out rapidly, pushing walk-up skaters into waiting holding patterns of one to two hours before the next open ice slot. Coin lockers require two 500-won coins (1,000 won), while basic knit gloves can be purchased on site for 1,000–1,500 won if you arrive unprepared.

Ice safety regulations are strictly enforced ([skating rink operational rules](https://www.wassupkorea.com/Cafe/visit-to-seoul-plaza-ice-skating-rink/)): gloves are mandatory for entry onto the rink sheet, and smartphones or recording devices are prohibited while actively skating to prevent fall injuries. Photographers must shoot from behind the perimeter boards. For evening sessions, bring disposable pocket warmers (*hot-pack*) to combat the open plaza chill.

Age eligibility rules restrict access ([rink admission standards](https://fanplus.co.kr/en-US/community/misc/122033270)): children aged 6 and under are barred from the main ice for safety, while children aged 7 and older must skate under direct adult guardian supervision. Because prime afternoon and evening weekend slots routinely hit the 600-person capacity limit across online and walk-up allocations, weekday morning or early afternoon sessions offer significantly smoother ice and shorter rental lines.

## Reality check

A 1,000 won rink is never going to be empty. Last year about 100,000 people came in 26 days, roughly 4,000 a day (Kyunghyang Shinmun). If you want to skate fast, this isn't the place.

The cold changes day to day. At 7 pm on December 20, the day after last year's opening, Seoul was at 7 degrees Celsius and fine. On Saturday, January 10, it was already 0 degrees by 5 pm, and around 5 below zero with the wind (Seoul weather station). The sun went down before 5:20, so for the lit-up plaza, aim for the 5:30 session or later.

The trip home gets busier the later you go. I checked the subway ridership data, and on Saturday, December 20 last year, the number of people boarding at City Hall Station on Line 2 around 9 pm was about 1.4 times that of other December Saturdays (Seoul Metro data). If you were planning to end the night with hot fish cake after the last session, think again, since one review said the snack stand closed before 9:30.

## What to see nearby

The rink is one of the Seoul Winter Festival venues (it was called Seoul Winter Festa until last year). If you go between December 18 and January 10, you can take in Gwanghwamun Market and the Cheonggyecheon lanterns the same evening. For more to do this winter, see [Seoul Winter Festival](https://formthrow.com/en/festivals/seoul-winter-festa/), the [Seoul Lantern Festival](https://formthrow.com/en/festivals/seoul-lantern-festival/) for the sculptures along Cheonggyecheon, and the year-end [Seoul Christmas markets](https://formthrow.com/en/festivals/seoul-christmas-markets/). Anything else on the winter calendar is on the [festivals and events](https://formthrow.com/en/festivals/) page.

[Seoul Plaza skating rink opening ceremony | 2025 Seoul Winter Festa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxbj3yCbbjU)
*Video: Seoul's official YouTube channel Seoul City*

Dates can change. Check this year's notice on the [Seoul Plaza info page](https://plaza.seoul.go.kr/archives/18327) before you go.

## Frequently asked questions

### When does the Seoul Plaza ice skating rink open in 2026?

It opens on Friday, December 18, 2026 and runs until February 9, 2027. That's the schedule on the official Seoul Winter Festival site, and the hours and booking details aren't out yet.

### How much does the Seoul Plaza skating rink cost?

It's still 1,000 won for a one-hour session this year, with skate and helmet rental included. Gloves, a locker and lessons cost extra.

### Can I skate without booking ahead?

Yes. Last year each session kept 300 tickets for walk-up sales. On weekends the walk-up tickets went early, though, and in reviews many people arrived about two hours ahead to buy one.

### Do I really need gloves?

Yes, you can't get on the ice without them. If you forget, you can buy a pair on site, and a January 2026 report put them at 1,500 won.

### Which station do I get off at for the Seoul Plaza skating rink?

City Hall Station, served by Line 1 and Line 2. Seoul's own guide lists both Exit 5 and Exit 6, and either one puts you right at the plaza.

## Sources

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