Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Seoul expands free weddings, cultural programs at historic houses
A newlywed couple poses for a portrait at the Hong Geon-ik House in Seoul. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Looking to move past the era of treating historic architecture merely as static museum pieces, Seoul metropolitan authorities are opening the heavy wooden doors of the city’s public "hanok" — traditional Korean houses — to become interactive backdrops for contemporary civic life.
Starting this summer, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will dramatically scale up community programming across its network of public properties in the historic Bukchon and Seochon neighborhoods, municipal officials said Wednesday. The pivot follows a highly successful spring season that saw over 44,000 visitors, alongside a tidal wave of interest in a new pilot program offering free wedding photo sessions for newlyweds inside designated historic properties.
The lottery-based wedding photography initiative initially drew dozens of couples vying for just four slots when the program was launched at the Hong Geon-ik House, one of the city's best examples of a merchant's home from the 1930s. Couples cited a desire to escape the sterile environment of commercial studios in favor of the natural lighting, sloping rooflines, and quiet stone courtyards unique to traditional Korean design. In response to the overwhelming demand, city officials announced they will triple the program’s footprint this October, expanding subsidized photography sessions to the Bukchon Cultural Center and Bae Ryeom's House, a registered cultural heritage site named after the master of traditional Korean landscape painting who once lived there.
The new initiatives are not limited to major life events.
Over the next three months, municipal authorities will roll out a dense calendar of seasonal programming designed to integrate these historic wooden residences into public recreation and city life.
At Bae Ryeom's House, the city will host outdoor concerts with the audiences seated on the traditional raised wooden verandas that line hanok courtyards, along with sunset yoga classes held in the building's wide hallways. Meanwhile, the Hong Geon-ik House will transform into a craft incubator, hosting workshops where contemporary artisans will teach citizens to weave bamboo into tea strainers and make lamps from traditional paper.
The programming will culminate in early October with the launch of "2026 Seoul Hanok Week." This year’s festival, themed "The Aesthetics of Linger: Hanok Life in Seoul," will feature international architectural exhibitions, open-house tours of privately owned residences and design seminars aimed at repositioning the hanok as a sustainable modern living space.
"Seoul's public hanok have evolved beyond simple viewing spaces to become living cultural hubs interwoven with the daily routines and special milestones of our citizens," Choe Jin-seok, head of the city’s housing bureau, said. "We plan to throw these doors wide open."
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.