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Gwanghwamun Square's own winter light show and the separate Seoul Lantern Festival both trace back to around 2009, when Seoul first staged large-scale media art installations at Gwanghwamun Square and, independently, launched an annual lantern display along the nearby Cheonggyecheon Stream. The two ran on their own separate names, themes, and venues for over a decade.
In 2022, the Lantern Festival moved its main display to Gwanghwamun Plaza itself, and the following year the city consolidated its various winter light events into the single Seoul Winter Festa — giving Seoul's winter light programming one unified season and identity rather than several separately branded events. The unified festival drew a reported 7.4 million visitors in its first year (2023) and has continued to draw several million more in each year since.