Jeongdong Culture Night, Oct. 30–31: book tours by Oct. 16
Jeongdong Culture Night returns to Seoul’s Jeongdong district on October 30–31, pairing late-opening cultural venues with guided walks in English and Japanese past a red-brick school, a church and the streets beside Deoksugung. Advance applications for the tours close at 18:00 on October 16.
A district of schools and churches
Visit Seoul presents Jeongdong, where a school, churches, former legations and Deoksugung Palace stand close together, as a walk through Korea’s encounter with modern institutions. Landmarks include the brick facade of the Appenzeller Noble Memorial Museum, housed in Paichai School’s east building, and the windows and tower of Chungdong First Methodist Church.
The main 2026 festival runs Friday, October 30, 18:00–22:00, and Saturday, October 31, 14:00–22:00. All times are Korean Standard Time (KST). The photographs show the buildings in 2010, not this year’s lighting or installations.
Guided walks in English and Japanese
The official A Walk Around Jeongdong route links the Appenzeller Noble Memorial Museum, Seoul Museum of Art, Chungdong First Methodist Church, Ewha Museum and Jungmyeongjeon. Tours last about 60 minutes for 10–15 people. English and Japanese sessions are listed for October 30 at 19:00 and October 31 at 16:00.
General departures leave on the hour and half hour within Friday’s 18:00–20:30 and Saturday’s 14:00–20:30 windows, but foreign-language guides are available only at the listed times. The organizer lists both advance applications and on-site registration at the guides’ headquarters in Paichai Children’s Park (배재어린이공원). Remaining on-site places have not been confirmed.
Applications close Oct 16, 18:00
Advance applications run from October 7 at 09:00 to October 16 at 18:00. Anyone may apply with one companion; 30% of places go first to Jung-gu residents. Selected applicants will be announced on the website and contacted individually on October 19. Applicants may miss out if demand exceeds capacity, and unsuccessful applicants are not notified.
English information and an application form are available, but acceptance of overseas mobile numbers has not been verified. Submitting a form does not guarantee a place.
Venue hours and last entry
Venue admission deadlines differ from the festival’s closing time. The official guide lists the Appenzeller Noble Memorial Museum and Chungdong church’s history memorial hall as open until 22:00, with last entry at 21:30. Ewha Museum closes at 21:00, with last entry at 20:30.
Deoksugung is listed as closing at 21:00, with last entry at 20:00 and admission of KRW 1,000. Concessions and separate exhibition tickets follow each venue’s rules; there is no single free admission across all venues.
Saturday tightrope and taekkyeon
On October 31, the National Jeongdong Theater’s outdoor courtyard hosts a special Jeong-o-ui Hanmadang performance from 16:10 to 17:00, featuring Namsadang tightrope walking and taekkyeon. The theater lists free, unreserved viewing with no age restriction.
The show overlaps with the 16:00 English and Japanese walks. It is cancelled in rain, and schedules can change. The theater notes that some sessions may be filmed, including the audience, for documentation and promotion.
Transport and etiquette
Official directions list City Hall Station on Lines 1 and 2, Euljiro 1-ga on Line 2 and Gwanghwamun on Line 5. Roads from Daehanmun to the Jeongdong fountain and Yewon School will be closed on event days, and there is no festival parking. Guided walks gather at the guides’ headquarters in Paichai Children’s Park.
Chungdong First Methodist Church, a stop on the route, is at 46 Jeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. Each venue’s photography and worship-space rules apply. Official information on languages for other programs, overseas-card payment and accessibility details is limited.
EVENT INFO
LOCATION
NEARBY
Source jeongdong-culturenight.kr Checked 2026.10.13 19:17
Sources & context
2026-10-13T23:42:51.242Z
jeongdong-culturenight.kr ↗jeongdong-culturenight.kr ↗jeongdong-culturenight.kr ↗jeongdong-culturenight.kr ↗jeongdong-culturenight.kr ↗jeongdong-culturenight.kr ↗english.visitseoul.net ↗english.visitseoul.net ↗english.visitseoul.net ↗National Jeongdong Theater ↗Ryuch / Wikimedia Commons ↗Ryuch / Wikimedia Commons ↗Creative Commons ↗Photo credit
Ryuch / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0The front facade and lawn of Paichai School’s east building. Archival photograph by Ryuch, August 8, 2010. It does not depict the 2026 festival or current conditions. Photo: Ryuch / Wikimedia Commons, “East hall of Pai Chai school.JPG”, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_hall_of_Pai_Chai_school.JPG · License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Original JPEG supplied unchanged, without cropping, retouching, generated content or padding.
Photo credit
Ryuch / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0The brick tower and windows of Chungdong First Methodist Church behind trees and parked cars. Archival photograph by Ryuch, August 8, 2010 (church date from camera metadata). It does not depict the 2026 festival or current conditions. Photo: Ryuch / Wikimedia Commons, “Jeongdong First Church.JPG”, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeongdong_First_Church.JPG · License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Original JPEG supplied unchanged, without cropping, retouching, generated content or padding.
A red-brick building with arched verandas on both floors, and its forecourt. Jungmyeongjeon (41-11 Jeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul), photographed in May 2011; it is one of the stops on the guided walk. It does not show this year’s Jeongdong Night lighting or installations. Photo: Gapo / Joongmyungjun / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
People walk along the stone-wall road, with coloured lanterns hung in the trees and lights along the base of the wall. Titled “Deoksugung stone-wall road on an autumn night”, taken on the evening of 17 October 2009. It does not show this year’s Jeongdong Night lighting or Deoksugung’s evening opening. Photo: Sungslim / 밤의 덕수궁 돌담길 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Beyond a stone-pillared gate inscribed “Jeongdong Theater” are a brick entrance, steps and a forecourt. Taken in May 2011 during the “Wikipedia takes Jeongdong” event and categorised on Commons under the National Jeongdong Theater of Korea. It does not show this year’s special performance. Photo: KSH1015 / KSH Jeongdong (56) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0