An underground space of 3,261㎡ (about 1,000 pyeong) located 13 meters below Seoul Plaza that had been closed for about 40 years will be transformed into a K-culture venue.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 24th it will officially open the City Hall Station fun station "K-Culture Station," created between City Hall Station and Euljiro 1-ga Station.
K-Culture Station was created between the nation's first underground shopping mall and the Line 2 subway tracks. It is presumed to have been formed in the process of connecting City Hall Station and Euljiro 1-ga Station, which had different heights in the early 1980s, but it remained closed for more than 40 years without being used for any particular purpose.
This space was first unveiled in Sept. 2023 through the "Citizen Expedition." At the time, because ventilation, fire safety, and evacuation facilities were not in place, it operated only as a temporary exploration program, but strong interest from residents in walking the 335-meter underground space confirmed its potential as a new downtown cultural venue.
Accordingly, the city of Seoul refined utilization plans based on citizen ideas and, together with Seoul Metro, installed essential infrastructure for safe use, including ventilation, fire safety, evacuation, and electrical systems. While reinforcing the infrastructure, the basic structure and form of the space were kept as much as possible.
The name K-Culture Station carries the meaning of experiencing K-culture at the subway station people use every day and "transferring to culture in daily life." Leveraging its location in the heart of downtown connecting Seoul Plaza, City Hall, Euljiro, and Myeong-dong, and its 335-meter tunnel structure, the plan is to present large-scale immersive content rarely seen in other exhibition halls.
The first opening content is the media exhibition "COSMOS," marking the 20th anniversary of Big Bang's debut. It reinterprets Big Bang's music and 20th-anniversary story with light, video, and sound, allowing visitors to experience it as they move through the 335-meter space. A total of 11 experience zones will feature media art and projection mapping, VR and holograms, and visitor-participation content.
The exhibition runs from today through Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will be held 12 times a day on an advance reservation system with hourly entry on the hour. Tickets can be reserved through Naver Reservation.
On opening day today, viewing begins at 2 p.m., and thereafter it will be closed every Monday. On-site reservations and sales will not be offered separately. Reservation, cancellation, refunds, and visitor guidelines can be found on Naver Reservation and the exhibition's official channels.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to operate K-Culture Station as a permanent cultural platform. Rather than a one-off venue that closes when a specific exhibition ends, it aims to use it as a place where visitors can encounter new content each time.
Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said, "We will discover hidden spaces throughout Seoul and turn them into 'fun stations' where people can find new delights with every visit," adding, "We will make it a new attraction in Seoul that is beloved not only by residents but also by K-culture fans around the world."