Korea’s Times Square or glaring eyesore? Debate rages over Gwanghwamun’s digital billboards.

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Korea’s Times Square or glaring eyesore? Debate rages over Gwanghwamun’s digital billboards.

Published: 13 Apr. 2026, 07:00

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Digital billboards near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul display videos of boy band BTS ahead of their comeback performance on March 21. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

When 32-year-old Kim Ji-hye visited the Gwanghwamun area in central Seoul for K-pop megastar BTS’s much-anticipated comeback show last month, the seven members were not the only spectacle that caught her eye.

It was the towering digital billboards, large and small, blended with statues of Admiral Yi Sun-shin and King Sejong in a scene she had not expected to encounter.

“As I sat in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square that day, I was struck by how the space was surrounded by billboards, like New York’s Times Square,” Kim, a Seoul resident, said, recalling an earlier visit to the U.S. commercial and tourist hub, also known as "crossroads of the world", where she had marveled at the bright displays.

“To me, Gwanghwamun felt even more compelling, given that historic sites like Gyeongbok Palace and statues of Admiral Yi Sun-shin and King Sejong stand nearby, where the past and present coexist,” she added.

The historic area, which hosts heritage sites like those Kim mentioned, has begun incorporating digital billboards as part of an effort to reshape it into a media-rich destination. The shift reflects a broader attempt to move beyond traditional monuments toward urban spaces with light and digital imagery.

Large digital billboards, right, display an advertisement at KT Gwanghwamun West Building in Jongno District, central Seoul, across the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin on Sept. 9, 2025. [YONHAP]

In December 2023, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designated a 221,815-square-meter (55-acre) stretch around Gwanghwamun Square and Sejong-daero in Jongno District as a “free outdoor advertising zone.” The designation relaxes regulations on large-scale displays, part of a government push to promote tourism and the digital advertising industry.

While the effort excites some, others complain that the project damages the cityscape and causes light pollution. Amid contrasting views, can Gwanghwamun successfully become the Korean version of Times Square?

How it hopes to transform

Under the government’s so-called Gwanghwamun Square project, nine buildings in the area are slated to host large digital billboards between January 2024 and the end of this year, as part of the first stage.

Protesters descend on Times Square during the ″No Kings″ national day of protest in New York on March 28. [AFP/YONHAP]

So far, four out of nine billboards have been installed on the KT Gwanghwamun West Building, Koreana Hotel, Dong-A Media Center and Segwang Building. The five others set to feature digital signage are Gwanghwamun Building, which houses Donghwa Duty Free, Ilmin Museum of Art, Kyobo Life Insurance Building, Kukho Building and Dajeong Building.

“The remaining buildings are included in the plan, but they may vary,” a Jongno District official in charge of the project said.

“Given that it is a project fully funded by the private sector, we are waiting for building owners’ approvals.”

The buildings mentioned have been selected for the project, but the installation of digital billboards depends on the landlords’ decisions.

If approval is granted, the city government will conduct an assessment for the installation.

The iconic billboard of the Kyobo Building, which features comforting phrases, is also among them, pending approval, as it faces a dilemma over whether to replace the meaningful billboard with a digital one.

The Koreana Hotel currently features a 1,303-square-meter digital billboard, while the KT building has two LED displays spanning 1,770-square-meter. Typically, such digital billboards are limited to 225 square meters per building.

Digital billboards in the Gwanghwamun area [YUN YOUNG]

In 2023, the Gwanghwamun area was selected as the free outdoor advertising zone along with Myeongdong Special Tourist Zone and Busan’s Haeundae. The area near Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, was selected in the first round in 2016. The ministry plans to designate more areas this year.

These zones are advised to allocate 30 percent of their daily display time to noncommercial content, such as media art and public information.

Times Square of Seoul?

New York's Times Square has frequently been cited by Korean government officials as a model for Gwanghwamun's transformation into a media canvas. But whether Gwanghwamun can replicate its success remains uncertain.

Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, Times Square, at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, is a major commercial crossroads, tourist destination and entertainment hub known for its flashy billboards and vibrant energy.

According to Shin Il-gi, a professor at Incheon Catholic University’s College of Fine Arts and Design who helped shape the original Coex model in 2016, the two places share some unexpected similarities.

“In the 1980s, Times Square was considered a slum, but it was later revitalized into a cultural destination in the 1990s,” he said, noting that Gwanghwamun, too, was devastated during the 1950-53 Korean War and restored decades later. “The overall trajectory is comparable.”

People watch a countdown show on digital displays near Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 1. [YONHAP]

He also pointed to the presence of cultural venues. “Just as Broadway sits near Times Square, Gwanghwamun is home to spaces like the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts,” he said, adding that the area is also where Korea’s “square culture” began.

Yet the differences may be more significant. Times Square has evolved into a global advertising hub where multinational brands experiment with immersive campaigns and coordinated displays, often tied to specific events or themes.

Prof. Shin argued that Gwanghwamun should move beyond conventional advertising. Instead, he said, it should emphasize experiential content that integrates public art and popular culture, positioning the space as a platform for Korean cultural expression.

“It’s difficult to create a true cultural destination if the screens are used only for advertising,” he said.

People watch a digital billboard display a Christmas-themed video featuring the city mascot, Hechi, during the 2025 Gangnam Media Winter Festa near Samseong Station in southern Seoul on Dec. 22, 2025. [WOO SANG-JO]

Kim Shin-youp, director of the advertising agency DS Research Institute and an adjunct professor at Hanyang University's Department of Advertising and Public Relations, expressed a similar view. He said Seoul should look to Times Square not just as a commercial space but as a storytelling medium for the city itself.

“Gwanghwamun should focus on content that conveys the history and identity of the place and the country, rather solely focusing on commercial activities,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of local participation. “What makes Times Square work is its connection to the surrounding community,” he said. “Building a cooperative network with local residents is essential, rather than treating the area simply as an advertising platform.”

Fans take photos of a digital billboard featuring boy band BTS near Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 18. [NEWS1]

Beauty at a cost

Not everyone welcomes the transformation.

“I often work late, and I was surprised by how bright the area remains at night,” said a 28-year-old office worker near City Hall Station in central Seoul. “I don’t think it necessarily improves the view, especially when the screens cover parts of distinctive buildings.”

The large digital displays have drawn complaints about light pollution, prompting the Seoul Metropolitan Government to recently introduce brightness guidelines for both daytime and nighttime use.

Displays are now capped at 7,000 candelas per square meter during the day. A fourth-generation OLED television typically reaches around 4,000.

At night, the limits are stricter. For large billboards exceeding 225 square meters, brightness is capped at 400 candelas per square meter from sunset to midnight and 350 thereafter, down from a previous limit of 1,500.

A digital billboard near Gwanghwamun Sqaure in Jongno District, central Seoul, reflects a building across the street on April 8. [CHO JUNG-WOO]

“It’s become a competitive industry, and some displays became excessively bright,” Prof. Shin of Incheon Catholic University said, citing controversy over clothing brand Musinsa's digital screen installed on the exterior of its store in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, that drew complaints from nearby office workers late last year.

He noted that the project remains a work in progress.

“That’s why it has been given a long timeline,” he said. The Gwanghwamun Square project is slated to run through 2033, with additional sites to be selected and installed with digital displays to transform the area.

Experts also point to the importance of content quality. Without careful curation, they warn, the displays risk becoming visual clutter rather than cultural assets.

"There is also a need for some level of quality control,” Prof. Kim of Hanyang University said, adding that Gwanghwamun lacks a distinctive content or advertising identity that people readily associate with.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]