Around Korea Travel

European Christmas Market – In Seoul

Gwangju News

By David J. Richter

Christmas in Korea can be, for lack of a better word, rather underwhelming for people that grew up in countries where it’s one of the biggest holidays of the year. Where in the West, Christmas is a holiday for family, here in Korea it is a holiday more in line with Valentine’s Day, which can feel quite odd once Christmas time comes around.

One big part of the Christmas season back home in Europe are the Christmas markets. They usually open up in early December and are a staple of the Christmas season — be it to go on a date, to spend time with family, to have a drink with friends, or to grab a bite to eat with co-workers, Christmas markets offer a wide variety of things to do and items to buy. Nowhere else emits more Christmas spirit to me than a Christmas market does.

Only one issue. As far as I am aware, Gwangju does not have any Christmas markets, and they are not really a common sight anywhere in Korea. But they do exist. Some are just big corporation pop up stores with Christmas decorations. And to be honest, there might be none that truly replicate the experience of Christmas markets back home, but from my experience, the European Christmas Market in Seoul is at least pretty close. Seoul’s European Christmas Market is run by a number of European embassies (including Germany, Poland, and France) and hosts a range of booths that offer foods, drinks, snacks, and handcrafted items from various countries. These booths are often operated by immigrants of the county in question and therefore offer a pretty authentic experience, considering the circumstances. Christmas market staples such as hot spiced wine, or mulled wine, are available too, of course.

The market is only open for two days, on the weekend of the 6th and 7th of December this year, so it does get rather crowded, especially during the opening ceremony, when ambassadors of various European countries will be present. All in all, it is a fun experience – one that can make you feel a little bit more at home at Christmas time than you otherwise would.

In addition to the European Christmas market, there are now other Christmas markets in Seoul, not all of which I have visited. Grouping them all together into a Christmas market weekend visit to Seoul could be a fun way to put you into the Christmas spirit early in the Christmas month.

THE 14TH EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKET

  • December 6–7, 2025 (Sat. & Sun.), 12–7 p.m. Baram Madang & Jandi Madang, Seongbuk -gu Office
  • Inquiries: 02-2241-6381~4
  • Website: https://global.seoul.go.kr/web/news/ news/bordContDetail.do?mode=W&brd_ no=2&post_no=43345FDD4FC30126E0 63C0A8A0230026&lang=EN

The Author

David Jona Richter, born and raised in the extreme south of Germany, is a current graduate student at Chonnam National University. Before coming to Korea in 2022, he spent three years in the U.S. Midwest city of Chicago.

Cover photograph courtesy of Kim Hyeonji.