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Seoul to host outdoor performances in public spaces throughout May

Published: 04 May. 2026, 18:31

Spectators enjoy an outdoor opera performance of “The Magic Flute” outside the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul, in June 2025. [SEJONG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS]

Seoul will turn plazas, streets and parks across the city into open-air performance venues throughout May, the city government announced on Monday.

“Seoul Plaza Where Culture Flows,” the almost decade-old performing arts series at Seoul Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul, will return on Wednesday and run every Wednesday through December, showcasing genres ranging from classical music to magic shows and musical performances.

Singers Roy Kim and Shin Ye-young are scheduled to perform at the opening show. The program, launched in 2015, has held a total of 441 performances as of last year.

The city’s street performance program will take place at about 50 locations across Seoul, including major plazas, parks and neighborhood hubs, with no prior reservations needed. About 2,000 performances are scheduled through the end of the year, with venue and schedule details available on the official event website.

Eight cultural facilities across the city will also double as performance venues, including museums, libraries and art galleries. Key locations include the Seoul Museum of History in Jongno District, central Seoul, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art in Jongno District, Seoul Metropolitan Library in Jung District and the Seoul Museum of Art in Jung District. Special performances featuring classical music, gugak (traditional Korean music) and family-friendly live theater performances will take place on the first Friday of each month.

The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno District is set to host large-scale outdoor performances at Gwanghwamun Square and along the Han River in central Seoul starting in late May.

Spectators attend a classical music performance from the "Seoul Plaza Where Culture Flows" series at Seoul Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul, in May 2025. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The center will host a free outdoor opera performance, “Aria at Gwanghwamun,” at Gwanghwamun Square and performances of “La Traviata" at Yeouido Hangang Park's floating stage in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul.

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a riverside concert at Yeouido Hangang Park in June, followed by its annual concert at Seoul Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin District, western Seoul, in September.

Other performances are also scheduled at popular outing spots, such as Seoul Forest in Seongdong District, central Seoul. and Nodeul Island in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture’s music program, “Seoul Stage,” will run every Thursday at 2 p.m. and at 4 p.m. throughout May at Seoul Forest.

Visitors can also enjoy an indie music concert from Wednesday to Friday at sunset at Nodeul Island in the Han River.

More detailed schedules and locations can be found on the Seoul Culture Portal, Seoul's official website dedicated to cultural events held in the city.

“We’re not just staging individual performances, we’ve organically woven them into the city so people can naturally encounter them in their daily lives, naturally on their way home or even while just taking a walk,” a Seoul city official said. “We will transform Seoul’s plazas, streets, parks and cultural facilities into living cultural spaces and expand the city’s outdoor performance culture."

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 MOON HEE-CHUL [[email protected]]