- It runs for ten days on Nodeul Island, from Friday 2 October to Sunday 11 October 2026, every day 18:30~22:30. There’s no entry fee.
- This year’s theme is “Rhapsody of Light”. There are 12 laser artworks alone, with 6 university collaboration pieces on top.
- About 700m on foot from Exit 2 of Nodeul Station on Line 9. 4 shuttle buses loop at 15-minute intervals, and there’s a Yeouido–Nodeul Island cruise boat too. But you should assume parking is effectively off the table.
Who wrote this
- Dates, hours, venue, programme and transport were all checked against the official festival site (bitseomfestival.com) on 2026-09-23.
- The performance and lecture dates come from press coverage of the Seoul city release, so they can still shift on the ground.
- The photos are Wikimedia Commons images — the licence and the credit for each one are given in its caption.
Come autumn, light spreads out across the Han River. The Seoul Light Hangang Bitseom Festival is already in its 4th edition this year.
The interesting part is the location. This festival rotates each year around six islands on the Han River — Nanjido, Yeouido, Seonyudo, Nodeul Island, Seoraeseom and Ttukseom. If you went to Ttukseom Hangang Park last year, you’ll need to head in a completely different direction this time. The 2026 stage is Nodeul Island.
So why Nodeul Island of all places? On 18 September, Nodeul Island reopened as the waterfront space of the “Nodeul Global Art Island” project. Which means the lasers go up on that island just 2 weeks after it opened.
There are barely ten days left until opening night. What to see, when to go, how to get there — everything below is only what could be confirmed on the official site. Let’s take a look!
Why is it Nodeul Island this year instead of Ttukseom?
✔ This festival moves to a different Han River island every year.
The Seoul Light Hangang Bitseom Festival doesn’t stay put. It tours six islands on the Han River — Nanjido, Yeouido, Seonyudo, Nodeul Island, Seoraeseom and Ttukseom — one each year. So if you trust last year’s write-up and just turn up, you’ll end up in the wrong place.
The 2026 stage is Nodeul Island, and the timing is uncanny. On 18 September 2026 the island opened the waterfront culture space that forms the first phase of the “Nodeul Global Art Island” project. So the festival starts on an island that has been open for exactly 2 weeks.
The designer’s name might ring a bell. Britain’s Thomas Heatherwick — the man behind the Vessel viewing platform and the Little Island park at Hudson Yards in New York. The Nodeul Island project is called “Soundscape”.
The waterfront section open now has five zones. A play garden with logs and grassy mounds, an ecology garden with tiered seating facing the Han River, a gap garden linking the upper level to the waterfront, a grass garden with a gravel path, and a walking trail of about 1.5km. Under Hangang Bridge, “Atelier Nodeul” runs a media façade at night.
Worth noting: this is a different event from the similarly named Seoul Light DDP. That one is a media façade on the outer wall of the DDP in Dongdaemun; this one is an outdoor laser festival that uses a whole Han River island. Both are free, so you could pair them up in one autumn trip.
✔ Read next: If you’re after somewhere for dinner once the festival wraps, The Curing in Heukseok-dong is one stop away on Line 9. They cure their own ham in-house.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Dates | Friday 2 October ~ Sunday 11 October 2026, ten days |
| Hours | Daily 18:30 ~ 22:30 |
| Venue | Nodeul Island — Yangnyeong-ro 445, Yongsan-gu, Seoul |
| Admission | Free (advance booking for some programmes only) |
| Theme | Rhapsody of Light · 4th edition |
| Programme | 12 laser artworks + 6 university collaborations · Donghaeng Light · Bitseom Lecture |
| Nearest station | Nodeul Station Exit 2, Line 9 — about 700m on foot |
| Transport and parking | 4 free shuttles at 15-minute intervals (18~22h) · Yeouido–Nodeul Island cruise boat · no parking on the island |
12 laser works alone? So what should you actually see?
✔ The headline pieces are two laser works, by a Taiwanese and an Italian artist.
This year’s exhibition is titled “Rhapsody of Light”. The art director is the artist Kim Ki-ra. He has woven the five energies that make up the Han River and Nodeul Island — water, fire, soil, air and life — into a single narrative.
Two works get the biggest billing. Taiwanese artist AKA Chang shows “Ripple” and “Overlapped Immersion”, firing lasers onto the surface of the Han River so the landscape of light keeps shifting with the waves and the wind. “The Firmament” by Italian duo Quiet Ensemble layers astronomical data over steel wire and lasers, translating the movement of the universe into light and sound.
The other ten pieces break down like this. They vary a lot, from big outdoor installations to indoor kinetic and video work.
- “MUTO Ground: Nodeul” — MUTO
- “Old Fantasy” — CIFIKA
- “The Rhythm Where Everything Past Connects” — VAKKI
- “Garden of Memory” — Hong Beom
- “Bitseom Promenade, Pavilion of Light” — Creative Hap
- “The Brilliantly Shining Willows of Nodeul” — Gonggan Silheom
- “Beyond the Universe” — Choi Jong-un · “Curve of Light 2021” — Jeong Jeong-ju
- “Odyssey – In the Orbit of Time” — Jin and Park · “Axis of Eternity” — Kim Jun-su
On top of that there are 6 more university collaboration programmes. Three light sculptures (Konkuk University’s “Words : Balloon”, University of Seoul’s “Nodeuri’s Day Out”, Sungshin Women’s University’s “The Breath of Nodeul”) and three hands-on light activities (Konkuk University’s “Konkuk Speaks Up While We’re At It”, University of Seoul’s “Nodeuri’s Bamboo Forest”, Sungshin Women’s University’s “Fragments of Light, Lines of Sound”). They’re folded naturally into the viewing route.
The connecting bridge and the entrance areas get a promenade of light and projection mapping. So the work starts the moment you set foot on the island.
Match your date to the performances and lectures!
✔ Only the exhibition runs all ten days; performances happen on set dates only.
The laser art exhibition is open every day from 2 October to 11 October. Performances and lectures, though, are fixed to particular dates. Here’s the thing. If you’ve got something specific in mind, check the schedule below first and then pick your date.
- 10/2 (Fri) opening ceremony 18:30~19:10 — VAKKI
- 10/3 (Sat)~10/4 (Sun) CIFIKA, “Old Fantasy” — electronic pop
- 10/8 (Thu)~10/9 (Fri) MUTO, “MUTO Ground: Nodeul” — tradition and the contemporary, music and light
- 10/9 (Fri) Bitseom Lecture 18:30~ · lighting fashion show 19:00~19:20 · Donghaeng Light 19:20~20:20
- 10/10 (Sat) Bitseom Lecture 18:30~ · Donghaeng Light 19:00~19:30
- 10/11 (Sun) Donghaeng Light and closing performance 19:30~20:30
Bitseom Lecture is an outdoor talk on the main stage on the Nodeul Island lawn. It uses the Pecha Kucha format — 20 images, 20 seconds each — so it’s short and fast. Session 1 (10/9) has science communicator Hangseong and Lee Jae-beom of “1-Minute Science” presenting “Light in Space-Time: Exploring the Unknown”, and session 2 (10/10) has brand consultant Noh Hee-young and physicist Kim Beom-jun on “Connection and Imprint: The Formula That Moves the Future”. It’s free for any Seoul resident to watch.
Donghaeng Light is a social contribution programme that pairs performances with fundraising. On 9 October, singer Sean appears for Compassion Korea, and musical actor Choi Jung-won and vocalist Park Sung-hee for ChildFund Korea. The 10th brings Hope Bridge with rapper Coogie, and the closing on the 11th has Food for the Hungry Korea with singer Bumkey and vocalist Ahn Se-kwon.
There’s also a lighting fashion show on the evening of 9 October. O.F.F., the national university fashion association founded in 1996 and running for close to 30 years, presents a 20-minute show on the theme “SHAPED BY LIGHT”. With a lecture, a fashion show and a performance stacked back to back, the 9th or the 10th is the densest day if you’re only going once.
What’s the easiest way to get to Nodeul Island?
✔ Leave the car at home. Parking on the island is effectively blocked.
The simplest option is the subway. From Exit 2 of Nodeul Station on Line 9, walk about 700m towards Hangang Bridge — a little over 10 minutes. You can also come out of Exit 1 at Yongsan Station on Line 1 or Exit 3 at Sinyongsan Station on Line 4, catch a bus at the Sinyongsan Station stop (03-004) and get off at the Nodeul Island stop.
Going straight there by bus, the stop is Nodeul Island (03-340). Trunk routes 150, 151, 152, 500, 501, 504, 506, 507, 605, 750A, 750B, 751 and 752 stop there, plus branch route 6211. With 14 routes passing through, you can usually get there in one ride from either side of the river.
A free shuttle bus runs during the festival. 4 buses loop Sinyongsan Station Exit 4 → Nodeul Island → Nodeul Station Exit 2 → Noryangjin Station Exit 3, at intervals of about 15 minutes, running from 18 to 22.
If you want to arrive in slightly grander style, there’s a boat. E-Cruise runs a special Yeouido–Nodeul Island route, one way and return: 4 sailings on weekdays (17:00~22:50) and 8 at weekends (15:30~22:50). Booking is handled separately on the E-Cruise website.
Don’t count on parking. The official guidance states flatly that parking space on Nodeul Island is hard to use. Depending on how the event is being run, vehicles other than staff ones may be turned away, and if it’s full you’ll be sent on to a nearby public car park.
Check just these before you set off!
✔ It starts at 18:30, and the October night wind off the Han River is stronger than you’d think.
Opening hours are 18:30~22:30, so the doors open after the sun has fully set. Laser works read more sharply the darker it gets, so the later you go the better. The trade-off is that night temperatures by the Han River in early October drop sharply from the daytime. Bring a layer.
There’s no entry fee. Some programmes do take advance bookings, though. You can apply for individual or group reservations under “Performance booking” on the official site. For anything else, call Seoul’s main information line on 02-120.
Bear in mind the island isn’t small, either. The waterfront trail alone is about 1.5km, and the works are scattered outdoors, indoors and along the connecting bridge. Give yourself an hour just to walk the exhibition slowly, and close to two hours if you’re watching a performance too.
Address Yangnyeong-ro 445, Yongsan-gu, Seoul · Dates Friday 2 October ~ Sunday 11 October 2026 · Hours daily 18:30~22:30 · Organiser Seoul Metropolitan Government · Enquiries 02-120
FAQ
Is there an entry fee?
No. It’s free to visit. Some programmes take advance bookings, though, so it’s worth checking “Performance booking” on the official site.
Can I just go to Ttukseom like last year?
No. The festival tours six islands on the Han River (Nanjido, Yeouido, Seonyudo, Nodeul Island, Seoraeseom and Ttukseom), one each year. 2025 was Ttukseom Hangang Park, but the 2026 stage is Nodeul Island.
What time should I go?
Opening hours are 18:30~22:30 daily. Laser works read more sharply the darker it gets, so a later slot is better. If you want to catch a performance, start times are fixed, so line up your date and time first.
Can I drive there?
It’s not recommended. The official guidance says parking space on Nodeul Island is hard to use, and general vehicles may be restricted depending on how the event is running. It’s about 700m on foot from Exit 2 of Nodeul Station on Line 9, and a free shuttle bus loops at 15-minute intervals from 18 to 22.
How long does it take?
The waterfront trail alone is about 1.5km, and the works are scattered indoors and out. Allow an hour for the exhibition only, and close to two hours if you’re seeing a performance as well.
- Official 2026 Seoul Light Hangang Bitseom Festival site — dates, hours, programme and directions (checked 2026-09-23)
- Official site, laser art — the 12 works and the university collaboration programme list (checked 2026-09-23)
- Official site, Donghaeng Light — day-by-day line-up and the lighting fashion show (checked 2026-09-23)
- Official site, Bitseom Lecture — themes and speakers for sessions 1 and 2 (checked 2026-09-23)
- Seoul Culture Portal — Seoul’s night: guide to the Seoul Light Hangang Bitseom Festival (checked 2026-09-23)
Dates, times, venue, programme and transport were checked on the official site (bitseomfestival.com) on 2026-09-23. Performance dates come from press coverage of the Seoul city release, and they can change on the ground.