Free Admission to Palaces and Royal Tombs
Experience Traditional Games for Lunar New Year
Rice Cake Soup Eating Event Also Held
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Various cultural events will take place in Seoul during the Lunar New Year holiday.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Deoksugung Palace, Changgyeonggung Palace, and Changdeokgung Palace will be open free of charge during the holiday period. The Joseon royal tombs will also be open for free.
At Bukchon Cultural Center, the 'Gye-dong Madam’s House Lunar New Year Celebration' event will be held on the 25th from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Traditional experiences such as kite making, rice cake pounding, and sotdae making will be available, along with fortune-telling with yut sticks and New Year’s luck-sharing programs to wish for blessings. Additionally, there will be a guided program imagining the hanok life of noblewomen from 100 years ago and the New Year’s scenery.
On the 26th, the Seoul Museum of History will host the 'Lunar New Year Festival.' There will be pungmul (traditional Korean percussion music) performances and Bukcheong lion dances, and the Pyongyang Art Troupe will present North Korean folk performances. A 'Magic Balloon Show' is also scheduled. Various hands-on activities such as meeting Olaf from Frozen, the Jangwon Geupje Eosahwa (official’s hat), and traditional kite making will be offered.
At the Hansung Baekje Museum, a grand Lunar New Year celebration will be held on the 26th to welcome the Year of the White Rat. Visitors can enjoy various experiential activities such as calligraphy New Year card making, creating personalized relic pattern stands, and archery. In the special exhibition hall, visitors can view 'Vietnam’s Oc Eo Culture ? Connecting Funan and Baekje by Sea,' which will be on display until March 15.
At Donuimun Museum Village, from now until the 27th, there will be performances including gugak (traditional Korean music) and magic shows, as well as experiential activities such as eating rice cake soup, pounding rice cakes, and mouse-themed face painting.
From Family Musical Plays to Monologue Sound Plays
Check schedules at Seoul Culture Portal or 120 Dasan Call Center
The Namsangol Hanok Village Lunar New Year Festival 'Everyone’s Seol' will be held from the 24th to the 26th, featuring the Twelve Zodiac Mask Play, street parades with explanations of ancestral rites tables, and special performances celebrating the Lunar New Year, creating a festive holiday atmosphere.
At Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, the family musical play 'Tempest' will be performed, and on the 26th at Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, the Gyeonggi Sound Project Group Nabi’s 'Complete Works' will take the stage. This performance features the Gyeonggi Sound Project Group Nabi, composed of holders of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 57 Gyeonggi Minyo (folk songs) license, and the charismatic singer Lee Hee-moon. They analyze and research Gyeonggi folk songs from the 1970s and 1980s to showcase the deep flavor of Korean traditional sounds.
Until the 31st, at Seoul Donhwamun Gugakdang, Oh Dan-hae, a holder of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 5 Pansori Simcheongga license, will present a moving monologue sound play titled 'Oh Dan-hae’s Tamhada,' offering comfort to contemporaries living their own youth.
Schedules for various cultural and artistic programs can be checked through the Seoul Culture Portal or the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Culture Headquarters social network services (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Detailed information for each program can be found on the respective event or facility websites, or by contacting the 120 Dasan Call Center.
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