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Korea to go dark, go green as monuments, apartments shut off lights to mark Earth Day

Published: 22 Apr. 2026, 14:11 Updated: 29 Apr. 2026, 11:40

Sungnyemun in Jung District, central Seoul, is illuminated in the left image, while the right shows the landmark darkened during the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour event on March 28. [NEWS1]

Lights out — Korea will give the planet a 10-minute power nap for Earth Day on Wednesday evening.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced on the day that the exteriors of some 2,180 apartment complexes with roughly 1.48 million households, will go dark for 10 minutes at 8 p.m. to celebrate the 56th Earth Day, along with major landmarks across the country including the N Seoul Tower and Sungnyemun Gate in Seoul, Gwangan Bridge in Busan, Suwon Hwaseong fortress in Gyeonggi and the Hanbit observation tower in Daejeon.

Privately owned buildings and retailers, including Lotte Hotels and Resorts and the fashion brand H&M, said they will also partake in the effort.

The 10-minute campaign, though brief, cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 53 tons, according to a 2020 estimate by the Climate Ministry, equivalent to the amount of carbon emissions absorbed in a year by 3,000 30-year-old pine trees.

“The action of turning lights off for 10 minutes provides a moment for people to reflect on climate-friendly behaviors actionable in our daily lives,” said Lee Gyeong-su, director for the Climate and Energy Policy Bureau at the ministry. “We ask for your active participation in this campaign.”

Lotte World Tour in southern Seoul is illuminated in the left image, while the right shows the landmark darkened during the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour event on March 28. [WORLD WILDLIFE FUND]

Companies are also rolling out related promotions.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of the delivery platform Baedal Minjok, will hold a lottery event to give away 5,000 won ($3) coupons to users who opt out of receiving disposable utensils such as spoons and forks from Wednesday through Tuesday. Those who order food using reusable containers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Jeju and other areas of availability will receive 7,000 won discount coupons on a first-come, first-served basis until May 5.

Another public food delivery platform in Jeju, dubbed “Mukkebi,” will offer a 7,000 won reimbursement to those who use reusable containers until May 5.

Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, in the wake of a 1969 offshore oil spill in California, when a rupture at a drilling platform released an estimated 100,000 barrels of crude oil into the seawater. The incident drew public attention to environmental issues.

Earth Day has since grown into a global event, with more than a billion people participating across 192 countries worldwide.

Korea has designated the week in which Earth Day falls as “Climate Change Week,” marking it each year with various green initiatives since 2009.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HEO JEONG-WON [[email protected]]