Explore the opening of Seoul Light Show 2021 – Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is one of Seoul’s most unique landmarks. It’s been a filming spot for K-dramas such as You Who Came from the Stars and She Was Pretty.

Zaha Hadid, a British-Iraqi architect, designed what has become the largest atypical structure in the world. 

This brings us to Seoul Light, an annual media exhibition that takes place on the exterior of DDP. The 2021 Seoul Light show brought some changes in light of COVID restrictions.

We had to book tickets in advance (at no charge) and the 10-minute show was limited to approximately 100 people per time slot. Spots to stand were placed in a marked-off area and workers kept pedestrians moving to avoid crowding.

Even at the 10 PM slot, there seemed to be plenty of other visitors wanting to view the show. 

The theme for this year is Seoul Haemong II, a continuation of the 2019 show created by visual artist Refik Anadol who served as director and artist for this year’s show. His previous work included the Walt Disney Concert Hall Dream in Los Angeles utilized a similar approach that took advantage of the texture and shape of the building.

His visual art utilizes an AI algorithm that has taken over a hundred million photos of Seoul along with nature photography and other visuals to create a feeling of spring. From the press release, this year’s show was designed to help provide hope to the citizens after over a year of dealing with COVID-19.  

It was my first time watching Seoul Light in person, and the show didn’t disappoint. The visuals took full advantage of the unique shape of Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The event itself runs from March 26 (2021) until April 1st, but they will be posting a video of the show online after the run through their YouTube Channel. If you want to learn more about the show, you can check out the welcome video from Refik Anadol. 

If you missed out on the show, Dongdaemun Design Plaza has a lot to offer. The hall is open 24 hours a day to visitors to check out their other exhibitions. Getting here is really easy as there’s a connected subway station.

You can arrive by lines 2, 4, or 5 and you will want to get off at the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. In addition to the art hall and museum, you can shop at the Design Lab and Kakao Friends Store.

The Dongdaemun History and Culture Park is nearby and the history museum has thousands of Joseon relics, and even part of the Seoul City Wall was located here during the excavations of the site. There was once a stadium built here during the Japanese colonial rule and was demolished in 2008 for the construction of Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park. 

What are you looking forward to seeing in Seoul during your next (or first trip)? Let us know in the comments and leave your suggestions on what you want to see us cover next in the blog.