A theater company is getting ready for a performance at Daehangno in the old part of Seoul. It is hard for street performers to capture people’s attention, but street performances in the Daehangno neighborhood offer something special.

Even passers-by find street performances at Daehangno hard to ignore. That’s the magic of Daehangno.

- I come to Daehangno often to see street performances and other events. I really enjoy them and I can feel their passion. These performances are excellent, because most of the performers are young yet experienced stage actors. I come here often because I want to feel their passion.
- I come to Daehangno for its plays and food. There are so many good eats here. As for plays, it’s hard to find one central place for stage plays, but Daehangno offers a wide selection of theater plays.

Stage plays, musicals, and cultural performances take place at the theaters and on the streets of Daehangno all year round. This is the place to come to revitalize yourself with youth, culture, and freedom.

At a glance Daehangno appears no different from other busy streets of Seoul. The neighborhood is full of boutiques, restaurants, flower shops, and cafes. But this appearance can be deceiving, says stage actor Kang Jeong-woo.

There are bars and coffee shops above ground, but once you go below there are stages. It’s like a totally different place down there. Just a step away from the world above is a whole new world. You can’t find anywhere in the world, not even in Broadway or West End, with a higher concentration of stages. Daehangno has the highest concentration of performance venues, which gives rise to a great number of new plays and performances.

At present there are some 150 large and small theaters, with some 22 thousand seats in total, clustered in Daehangno. Most of these theaters have performances scheduled for every day of the week.

As if to prove Daehangno is the Mecca of performing arts and cultural events, posters of theater plays and musicals are plastered all over the walls. Ticket booths are set up along the street and promoters advertise their plays to draw people to their performances. People can pick form some 150 performances on any given day. Here’s culture critic Kim Sung-soo to tell us more.

There are about 150 small theaters with fewer than 80 seats in Daehangno, as well as large musical theaters with more than one thousand seats. There is no other place like this in the world. Daehangno is a place where Korea’s performing arts is cultivated and experimented.

Having made a difficult choice of picking just one performance out of so many, people stand in line to enter the theater.



- I came to see a play. I heard it’s a really funny comedy, so I came to see it for myself.
- I’m from Busan and I came to see a live comedy show. It’s going to be fun.

Daehangno refers to a stretch of road from the Hyehwa-dong rotary to the Ehwa-dong four-way intersection, in the old part of Seoul. Officially, the six-lane avenue measures 1.5 kilometers in length and 40 meters in width, but if you include all the alleys beyond the main thoroughfare, Daehangno covers a much larger area. This neighborhood was designated a street of culture and arts in 1985 and the name “Daehangno” was given on the account of the Seoul National University campus located nearby. Here’s Mr. Heo Jin-hong who headed the planning of the 12th Seoul University Avenue Festival.

Seoul National University’s main campus used to be here in the 1970s. The University was relocated to southern Seoul and only the university hospital remains here, but the university’s presence can still be felt here. Hongdae and Shinchon show only the trendy side of today’s college life, but the ambience of old college days still exists in Daehangno. Of course, today’s college students also frequent the area, so Daehangno is a place where the past and present day collegiate cultures exist side by side.

Daehangno used to separate Seoul National University’s main building from its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Law, College of Medicine, and College of Fine Arts. Then in 1975 all colleges and institutions, except for the College of Medicine, moved to Shillim-dong, Gwanak-gu in southern Seoul. Marronnier Park was created where the university campus used to be and cultural groups began to gather around the park. Here’s culture critic Kim Sung-soo again.

Arko Arts Theater was the first one to set up there and others began to congregate around it. There were only a few theaters in the area, but then their number grew steadily, taking over the alleys all the way up to the Hyehwa-dong혜화동 circular roadway. It’s hard to find a theater you want to go without a map.

Marronnier Park was named for a grand marronnier tree in the middle of the park. The red-bricked Arko Arts Theater staged countless plays and attracted more than five million people annually for the past thirty years. This building was designed by Korea’s eminent architect Kim Swoo-geun. The presence of Arko Arts Theater drew other culture and arts groups, as well as stage actors. As Daehangno became the representative of Korea’s performing arts industry, more and more cultural groups moved here and presented experimental plays to further the advance of Korea’s theater play genre. Daehangno is where the latest trends in stage plays are born and where actors come to develop their talents. Here’s culture critic Kim Sung-soo again.

When there were only a handful of theaters in Daehangno, they did not have the clout to sway the performing arts scene at all. But as their numbers grew and the area was designated a cultural zone by the government in the 1990s, the neighborhood became the incubator for the latest performing arts productions. This is where people came to see the latest trend in performing arts. Since the 1990s, Daehangno still serves as a barometer of Korea’s performing arts and the first stop for all stage actors looking to learn the art.

Those who have honed their skills in Daehangno are now big stars in the Korean performing arts field. No wonder so many aspiring actors come to Daehangno to make their dreams come true. Here’s stage actor Kang Jeong-woo.



Today’s established actors have all worked hard in Daehangno. They showed great acting and we grew up watching them. They gave us something to dream about and something to get excited about. I often see the actors I’ve seen in Daehangno star in movies and TV shows. Those areas may not be where I want to work, but it is still acting and those actors are getting closer to their dreams.

Even though a lot of actors who have started their careers in Daehangno now star in films and TV shows, they return to Daehangno when they want to find their roots and their original dream, just like the salmon returns to the river it was born in. Daehangno is like home to the actors. Here’s stage actor Ju Min-jin.

Most young actors never think about money and feel happy about just being able to stand on stage. But they forget about that as time goes by. Performing no longer means everything to them. They want to make a lot of money and become famous. They worry not about how they should perform, but about other things. But when they’re in a rough spot, they return to Daehangno and find peace of mind and initial resolve.

As Daehangno gained fame as the Mecca of culture and arts, colleges with cultural arts department began to set up their campuses there. Here’s culture critic Kim Sung-soo again.

They see the merit of opening a campus where cultural trends are created. For instance, there are Dongduk Women’s University, Sangmyung University, ChungAng University and Kookmin University campuses in Daehangno. The Daehangno thoroughfare starts at the Ehwa-dong four-way intersection, and that’s where Hongik University opened its design center. You can see how so many universities want to open a performing center or a small theater here. That’s because they want to be tested and grow in this area. The schools think that the students who immerse themselves in the ambience of Daehangno would be more competitive in the field of performing arts.

With the theaters and college campuses clustered in the area, Daehangno has become the vanguard of Korea’s culture and arts.

The 12th Seoul University Avenue Festival held from June 7th to 9th was a celebration of nature, health, and culture. There were a counseling service for youths, a photo exhibit for children in need worldwide, and various events hosted by collegiate clubs, civic groups, and artists. The entire Daehangno neighborhood was rocking with vibrant artistic energy. Here’s Mr. Heo Jin-hong who headed the planning of the 12th Seoul University Avenue Festival to tell us more.

Our festival’s foremost characteristic is that it is shaped by college students. They are the ones who fill the festival with contents of their own creation. The festival’s initial purpose was to change the culture of young people, which seemed rather standardized and non-descript. Today’s college students care more about their job qualifications or test scores. So we wanted to provide a different kind of cultural vision through the festival.

The Daehangno Cultural Festival featured amateur artists from various fields, like dance, theater play, and even hip hop.

- I saw a lot of street performances in Hongdae. It’s nice to see stage plays and other performances in Daehangno as well. This is a place where we can enjoy a wide variety of cultural activities.
- When I saw all the performances I didn’t expect to see on the street, I realized that Daehangno is a bona fide street of performing arts.

With Daehangno featuring the performances of various cultural and artistic disciplines, excellent restaurants of diverse cuisines, and even small, specialized museums, the neighborhood has transformed into a favorite tourist destination. Wherever you go in Daehangno, you can see and feel the dynamic energy of youth and immerse yourself in the sea of culture and arts.