Seoul opens underground K-culture venue dormant for over 40 years

An underground passage beneath Seoul that sat untouched for more than four decades has been reborn as a K-culture destination. The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday officially opened the K-Culture Station, a new venue within City Hall Station's "Fun Station" network, stretching between City Hall Station and Euljiro 1-ga Station. The space runs from the western end of the Euljiro entrance, across Seoul Plaza and along sections of Sogong-ro and Sejong-daero — effectively sitting beneath Seoul Plaza.

The K-Culture Station measures 9.5 meters wide and 335 meters long, covering a total area of 3,261 square meters. It sits between the country's first underground shopping arcade and the Line 2 subway tracks, and is believed to have been created in the early 1980s when engineers connected City Hall Station and Euljiro 1-ga Station, which sit at different elevations.

The space was first revealed to the public in September 2023 through a "citizen explorer" program. At the time, it lacked ventilation, fire suppression and evacuation facilities, so it operated only as a limited-run exploration program. Strong public interest in walking the full 335-meter tunnel confirmed its potential as a new cultural space in the heart of the city.

Working with the existing structure, the city transformed the concrete walls and long tunnel into a stage for light, video and music. The name K-Culture Station carries the idea of experiencing Korean culture at a subway station people pass through every day — a "transfer from daily life to culture."

The venue operates under a public-private partnership model in which the city identifies long-dormant public spaces and establishes a safe foundation for use, while a private operator with specialized expertise handles content planning and management. The Seoul Metropolitan Government oversees the overall project, Seoul Metro is responsible for building the infrastructure — ventilation, fire safety, evacuation systems and electrical work — and Creative Meot, a company specializing in immersive K-content experiences, manages the content and interior design.

The inaugural exhibition is "BIGBANG 20TH ANNIVERSARY MEDIA EXHIBITION COSMOS" (COSMOS), marking the 20th anniversary of BigBang's debut. The show reinterprets the group's music and two-decade story through light, video and sound, guiding visitors through the full 335-meter space. Eleven experience zones feature media art, projection mapping, VR, holograms and interactive content.

The exhibition runs Monday through Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Entry is by advance reservation in hourly slots — 12 sessions per day — bookable through Naver Reservations. During the opening exhibition period, the city will also invite approximately 1,000 residents with limited access to cultural activities, including children and teenagers at community child centers and young adults aging out of foster care, free of charge.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to operate the K-Culture Station not as a one-off event space that closes when an exhibition ends, but as a permanent cultural platform with regularly rotating content. After the current show, the city intends to present collaborations with global K-pop artists, K-fashion exhibitions and runway shows, entertainment-technology experiences, brand showcases and pop-up events — all tailored to the character of the space.

The K-Culture Station is part of the city's broader Fun Station initiative, which aims to expand the role of subway stations beyond transportation into leisure, culture and wellness. The program's core idea is to find unused spaces inside stations and turn them from places people simply pass through into destinations where residents can linger and enjoy themselves.

The city launched the initiative in May 2024 with the Runner Station at Yeouinaru Station, followed by wellness-focused and park-golf venues at Ttukseom Station and Meokgol Station. Including the K-Culture Station, the city plans to open 12 Fun Station locations in the second half of this year, each reflecting the location and spatial characteristics of its respective station, with offerings spanning recreational sports, relaxation and culture.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the city had "opened the door safely through the public sector and added private-sector technology and creative content to turn subway stations people used to breeze past into cultural destinations worth making a special trip for." He added that the city would "continue uncovering hidden spaces across Seoul, transforming them into Fun Stations where visitors find something new every time, and building them into must-visit attractions for both Seoul residents and K-culture fans around the world."