We're just a week away from the 4-day Lunar New Year holiday, and there's one important thing to consider before making your holiday plans: whether some of the venues you want to visit actually stays open.
Mostly, many venues will be closed on the exact day of the Lunar New Year — which falls on Feb. 10 this year — while opening on the rest of the holidays.
But some will be open, while having shorter hours. Or some may even decide to close during the holiday period.
Going out just to find out places you wanted to go are closed for the day isn't necessarily the best feeling, so here's a list of what closes and opens on the Lunar New Year holiday to help!
Also, explaining everything word for word might be a bit difficult to understand, so scroll down a bit if you want the dates organized into tables.
Museums
1) National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA)
MMCA's Seoul branch will be open on Feb. 9, 11 and 12. However, it will be closed on Feb. 10.
The three other MMCA branches — Gwacheon, Deoksugung and Cheongju — will open Feb. 9 through 12.
Those three branches regularly close on Mondays, but they will stay open on Feb. 12, which is a Monday, as an exception during the Lunar New Year holidays.
But because they are open one extra day, they will be closed on Feb. 13, a Tuesday.
On days during the Lunar New Year that the MMCA is open, admission will be free to all visitors.
Do note that admission is always free for undergraduate students with a student ID, or those that are 24 years or younger.
But if you are someone that weren't eligible for those discounts because you are in graduate school, etc, the Lunar New Year holiday might be a good time to try visiting.
Docent tours will not be available during the entire holiday period for all MMCA branches, but visitors can use the audio guides.
2) Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA)
The Seoul Museum of Art also has many branches: the Seosomun main branch, the Buk-seoul branch and Nam-seoul branch.
All three SeMA branches will be open between Feb. 9 and 12. However, they will close a little early during the holidays.
It usually stays open between 10:00 and 20:00, but will close at 18:00 during the holiday period, so making an early visit might be the best option.
3) National Museum of Korea
The National Museum of Korea is a good choice if you want to look at various historical artifacts, while having a walk around the musuem's huge park and beautiful Mirror Pond. It's also connected to the Yongsan Family Park, which is also a nice place to go for a walk.
The National Museum of Korea will be closed only on Feb. 10, and open on Feb. 9, 11 and 12.
However, the outdoor park area is accessible even during the closed days.
The museum's library will be closed throughout the entire holiday, from Feb. 9 to 12.
4) Leeum Museum of Art
Leeum Museum of Art is another musuem located in Yongsan, near the Itaewon area. The "Gala Porras-Kim: National Treasures" exhibition is on going at the museum, which showcases the artist's works about Korean cultural heritage.
For those who want to visit, Leeum Museum of Art will be open on Feb. 9 and 11. However, it will be closed on Feb. 10 and 12.
