Seoul to light up DDP with fall media art festival

The Seoul Design Foundation announced Tuesday that it will hold "Seoul Light DDP 2026 Fall" at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from Thursday through Sept. 13. After the event, the foundation plans to make light and media art content a permanent fixture through "DDP 365 Light," linking fashion, design, food and shopping at the venue.

The festival will introduce a new program called "Live," combining media art with live music performances. Admission is free, with shows running from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Works by video art pioneer Nam June Paik, abstract painter Yoo Young-kuk and hangul lyrics from "Cheongguyeongeon" — the oldest surviving collection of sijo verse — will be reinterpreted as contemporary media art, filling the DDP's 222-meter exterior wall with light and video. Paik's "The Break Point" reimagines the experimental spirit of the video synthesizer in a modern context, with light and imagery shifting in real time to live music.

In the Yugu Exhibition Hall, laser artist Yoon Je-ho's work "Light of the Future, Passing Through the Resonance of Time" weaves together laser beams, traditional percussion, electronic sound, AI-generated video and lighting to connect the accumulated history of the DDP site with visions of the future through light and sound.

This fall season marks the first time Seoul Light DDP will feature live performance paired with real-time reactive media art. Moving beyond pre-recorded video playback, the facade's imagery and lighting will respond live to musicians performing on stage, creating a different visual experience at each show.

Since its launch in 2019, Seoul Light DDP has used the DDP's 222-meter irregular exterior wall as a giant media art canvas, establishing itself as one of Seoul's signature nighttime cultural attractions. Last year, about 1.92 million people visited Seoul Light DDP, and roughly 87,000 attended the Dec. 31 New Year's Eve countdown.

The event has also earned international recognition, winning the iF Design Award in February this year and the Red Dot Award in July, and reaching the finals of the IDEA awards in August — marking four consecutive years of recognition at the world's three major design awards. Last year, it set a Guinness World Record for the world's largest 3D mapping display on an irregular structure.

To draw festival visitors into the surrounding commercial district, the event will also offer food, shopping and neighborhood travel content. During the festival, a "K-Food Zone" featuring booths selling tteok, sausages, coffee and other snacks, along with outdoor seating, will be set up around the DDP's outdoor Palgeo-ri area.

An online food delivery partnership and a pickup zone will also be available, allowing visitors to pre-order from on-site booths or have food from nearby Dongdaemun alley restaurants delivered or ready for pickup at the DDP.

In addition, the "DDP×Dongdaemun Super Pass" will connect DDP visitors to the surrounding commercial district. The pass curates more than 140 restaurants, cafes, shops and cultural spaces across six themed routes in neighborhoods including Sindang-dong, Jangchung-dong and Gwanghui-dong. Visitors can explore local spots on foot before or after the festival and receive discounts and gifts at participating stores.

Beyond the festival period, the Seoul Design Foundation will run "DDP 365 Light" as a permanent nighttime program, regularly presenting light and media art content that draws on the DDP's distinctive architecture and spaces.

In addition, the city plans to link nighttime content such as Seoul Light and 365 Light with food, shopping and local commercial districts, so that residents and tourists can enjoy a range of evening activities extending beyond the DDP into the broader Dongdaemun area.

"The DDP is Seoul's premier hub for the nighttime economy, where large-scale cultural content, shopping, fashion and food converge to create a natural flow from cultural experience to evening activity to commercial spending," said Cha Gang-hee, chief executive of the Seoul Design Foundation. "Through Seoul Light DDP and a variety of other nighttime programs, we will enrich the evenings of residents and tourists alike and create a virtuous cycle that carries that energy into the surrounding commercial district."

The DDP opened in 2014 as part of a redevelopment policy for the site of the former Dongdaemun Stadium after the stadium was demolished. It was designed by British architect Zaha Hadid and is operated by the Seoul Design Foundation, a city-funded organization under the Seoul Metropolitan Government.