Nodeul Island waterfront cultural space draws 104,000 visitors in 10 days

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that more than 104,000 people had visited the Nodeul Island waterfront cultural space in the 10 days since it opened on Sept. 18.

The opening marks the first phase of a plan to return completed sections of the island to the public without waiting for the full "Nodeul Global Arts Island" project to be finished in 2030, the city said.

Of the total visitors, 50,120 came on the two weekends following the opening — Sept. 19–20 and Sept. 26–27 — accounting for roughly half of all cumulative visitors. The first weekend drew 26,472 people, while the second, which coincided with the Chuseok holiday, brought in 23,648.

The ecological garden features tiered seating with a panoramic view of the Han River and a wide lawn. The play garden was built using logs, grass mounds and natural stone. The grass garden and a 1.5-kilometer circular walking path let visitors stroll or jog while taking in views of the island and the river. In the evenings, a media art space called "Atelier Nodeul," located at the southern end of Hangang Bridge, offers a distinctive nighttime landscape.

The city is running a range of cultural and leisure programs to keep visitors on the island from daytime through evening. On Saturdays, a pop-up library lets visitors read with the Han River as a backdrop; on Sundays, a "Picnic Day" program offers blanket and board game rentals. On autumn evenings, a busking series called "Guseokkuseok Live" fills the island with live music against the backdrop of the river and the Seoul skyline. Food trucks and other food and beverage services operate alongside the performances, allowing visitors to eat, relax and enjoy entertainment all in one place.

From Oct. 2 through Oct. 11, the "Seoul Light Han River Light Island Festival" will illuminate Nodeul Island with a range of media art programs, including laser art, companion lighting installations and a light island lecture series, offering a fresh take on the island on autumn nights.

A photo and short-form video contest inviting citizens to document the transformed island will run through Oct. 30.

The newly opened waterfront cultural space is the first step toward the broader "Nodeul Global Arts Island" vision. The city plans to add a water garden in 2027 and a sky arts garden in 2030, transforming the currently ground-level island into a layered cultural and ecological space connecting the waterfront, ground and sky.

The overall design was entrusted to Thomas Heatherwick, the British architect known for projects including the Rolling Bridge in London and Little Island in New York. An augmented reality glass experience zone called "NODEUL: NEXT SCENE" is also on offer, letting visitors preview what the island will look like in the future. The 2027 water garden will combine an aquatic performance stage with garden spaces above the Han River, blending performance and leisure. The 2030 sky arts garden will feature seven aerial gardens, an elevated walkway and a natural garden, completing a three-dimensional cultural arts space that links the waterfront, ground level and sky.

"The fact that 100,000 people visited in just 10 days shows how much citizens have been longing for a space near the Han River where they can rest, walk and enjoy culture," said Ahn Dae-hee, Seoul's director of future space planning. "We will carefully manage the facilities and programs so that people want to stay longer and come back." He added that the city would use the AR glass experience to give visitors a preview of the island's future transformation, and would work to foster a clean and pleasant visitor culture as the site grows in popularity.

Meanwhile, the Nodeul Global Arts Island project was named the top work in the public architecture category of the "2025 Seoul Citizens' Choice of 30 Architectural Designs." The annual selection is made through a public vote on the Seoul city government's mobile voting platform, from a shortlist of projects that have gone through architectural review and expert screening during the year.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the waterfront cultural space on Sept. 9, ahead of its opening, and said the island would be reborn as a cultural arts space encompassing the ground, waterfront and sky — through the opening of the waterfront cultural space and the construction of an elevated walkway scheduled to break ground in December 2026.