Seoul Arts Center, Seoul Time Square, and Jonggak Avenue of Youth, South Korea
Exploring different sides of Seoul, from the cultural Seoul Arts Center and modern Times Square to the lively streets of Jonggak Avenue of Youth. 1283
Seoul Arts Center: 2406 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea
Seoul Time Square: 15 Yeongjung-ro, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, South Korea
Jonggak Avenue of Youth: Gwancheol-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea
Date Picture Taken: Apr, 2026
Seoul Arts Center: A major cultural complex in southern Seoul, home to concert halls, theaters, art galleries, and performances ranging from classical music to opera and ballet.
I came to the Seoul Arts Center to see a play called Hong-do.
Hong-do is a Korean play about a gisaeng who falls in love with the son of a wealthy family. Set against the social conventions of 1930s Korea, their forbidden relationship becomes a tragic story of love, sacrifice, betrayal, and family conflict.
The Seoul Arts Center, which opened in 1988, is one of South Korea’s leading cultural complexes. Located in Seocho-gu, it brings together several major performance and exhibition venues, including the Opera House, Concert Hall, Hangaram Art Museum, and Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum.
It hosts a wide range of concerts, plays, operas, ballets, musicals, and art exhibitions throughout the year. The distinctive Opera House, designed to resemble a traditional Korean gat (hat), is one of the center’s most recognizable buildings.
A view behind me
In front of me is Yeakdang Hall at the National Gugak Center, one of Seoul’s major venues for traditional Korean music and performing arts.
Photos of the characters from the play Hong-do.
On another outing in Seoul, I visited Times Square, a large shopping and entertainment complex in Yeongdeungpo.
I am now at Jonggak Avenue of Youth near Jongno, a lively area filled with restaurants, shops, and nightlife. I explored this neighborhood in more detail in one of my previous blogs, so this time I was just passing through.
