Seoul museums, hanok villages to stay open until 9 p.m. under new nighttime culture program

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Saturday it will expand evening access to city museums and traditional cultural venues and run tailored programs at each site under a new initiative called "Seoul Culture Night."

Seoul Culture Night is one of the cultural action strategies under the city's "24-Hour Vibrant Economy Seoul" plan, announced Aug. 20. The initiative will extend nighttime opening hours — previously concentrated on Fridays — to five days a week, offering experiences distinct from daytime visits, including yoga, meditation, night running, history walks and escape rooms.

The main venues expanding their evening hours are the Seoul Museum of History, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art, the Hanseong Baekje Museum, Unhyeongung, Namsangol Hanok Village, and the Sejong Story and Admiral Yi Sun-sin Story exhibition below Gwanghwamun Square. Taking into account each venue's closure days and operating conditions, the facilities will stay open until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The extended evening hours will run through Nov. 30.

The Seoul Museum of History will offer "Exhibition Night Tales," in which curators share stories behind featured works and artifacts in special exhibitions. The Seoul Museum of Craft Art will run yoga, meditation and running programs in its outdoor courtyard and on its rooftop. A highlight is "Craft Night: Yoga × Meditation," running six sessions through Oct. 14, where participants wear headsets and recharge body and mind to the sounds of singing bowls, gayageum and handpan.

The Hanseong Baekje Museum will shift some existing education programs to evening hours and add nighttime-specific offerings. Unhyeongung will host evening performances drawing on the palace's history and hands-on experiences for enjoying a hanok night. Namsangol Hanok Village will launch a "Night Escape Room" starting Sunday, where visitors search for hidden clues and solve puzzles against the backdrop of traditional houses and gardens.

The Sejong Story and Admiral Yi Sun-sin Story exhibition, located below Gwanghwamun Square, will keep its galleries open until 9 p.m. Visitors can explore permanent exhibitions on King Sejong's people-first philosophy and hangul, and on the life of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, as well as hands-on activities such as digital rubbing and boarding a replica turtle ship — all available in the evening.

This winter's 2026 Seoul Winter Festival will expand a "Winter Sleep Contest," in which participants' heart rates are monitored to crown the most deeply asleep competitor. At Ttukseom Han River Park, the city plans to run an outdoor sauna where visitors can take in the winter night view of the Han River.

The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will extend its "Backstage Tour" — an unconventional look at the venue inside and out — to evening hours. Participants will pass through Gwanghwamun Square and the Garden of Gratitude before exploring the main theater lobby, the auditorium and the backstage area, hearing stories about each space along the way.

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture will run a stay-and-enjoy cultural campaign in the Daehangno theater district through November, encouraging audiences to linger in the area before and after performances. Every Saturday from 10 p.m., an "After Theatre" program combining music, talks, film and performance will give audiences a space to share impressions and soak in the Daehangno night long after the curtain falls.

"A Seoul Cultural Heritage Night Walk" is a guided tour through heritage sites in areas such as Jeong-dong and Naksan. A nighttime heritage walk centered on "Seoul Future Heritage" sites will be piloted this year, with regular operations planned from next year. Detailed schedules and registration information for each venue's evening programs are available on the respective institutions' websites.

The city said it will continue developing distinctive nighttime content drawing on festivals, performances and historical and cultural resources. It also plans to roll out, in stages, a scheme to make cultural facilities available as venues for citizens' special occasions.

Outdoor courtyards, lobbies and traditional houses at city museums and traditional cultural venues are to be offered as distinctive evening wedding and ceremony venues that highlight the architecture and scenery of each space.

"Through Seoul Culture Night, we want to go beyond simply keeping cultural facilities open late, so that citizens can routinely enjoy culture, rest and a wide range of experiences even after work," said Min Su-hong, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Culture Bureau.