Ansan Arts Center: which Haedoji Theater seats to pick, and where to park

Ansan Arts Center (안산문화예술의전당) puts three theatres in one building: the large Haedoji Theater, the mid-size Dalmaji Theater and the studio-scale Byeolmuri Theater. It is a five-minute walk from Exit 1 of Gojan station on Line 4, and the car park holds 505 cars across its surface and underground levels.

How many seats does the Haedoji Theater have?

Ansan Cultural Foundation publishes two different answers. Its technical data page for renters gives the Haedoji Theater as 1,368 seats (1,060 for children's shows), while the foundation's own seating-plan page for ticket buyers lists 840 seats on floor 1, 386 on floor 2 and 347 on floor 3 — a total of 1,573. KOPIS, Korea's performing-arts registry, also records 1,573.

The gap is 205 seats. Subtracting the 138 restricted-view seats on floor 3 and the 12 house seats the foundation itself publishes still leaves 1,423, so the difference is not explained by unsold seats alone. If you are contracting on a seat count or issuing tickets against one, check it with the foundation on +82-31-481-4000.

The Dalmaji Theater has the same problem in miniature. On one page the foundation gives its size as 682 seats and, a few lines lower, describes the auditorium as 686; KOPIS records 716. The Byeolmuri Theater, by contrast, agrees everywhere: the foundation says 140, the seating plan's blocks come to 42 + 55 + 43 = 140, and KOPIS records 140.

Which seats in the Haedoji Theater have the best view?

Read off the seating plans, three places carry the least risk: the middle rows of block C on floor 1, the front of block H on floor 1, and the front of block C on floor 2. Floor 1 is split into a front group of blocks A to E and a rear group of blocks F to J, with a cross aisle between them.

Block C's middle rows sit at the centre of the front group, square on to the stage. That suits musicals and plays where faces and movement matter; the wheelchair spaces are at the centre of block C's rear rows.

The front of block H sits directly behind the cross aisle, so there are no seats in front of it. It is further back, but nobody's head is in the way and it is easy to get in and out of.

Block O at the very front is the orchestra pit. The foundation only releases it as seating for productions that apply in advance and are approved, and never for standing concerts. When the pit is not sold, the first row of blocks A to E is effectively the front row.

The front of block C on floor 2 is the centre of the balcony, looking down on the stage. For ballet ensembles or opera sets, where the whole picture matters, it is the alternative when the good stalls seats have gone. Note that the plan shows a gap in the middle of block C on floor 2, so check the layout before you book.

Which seats are never put on sale?

The foundation's rental conditions page publishes the restricted-view and house seats down to the seat number. In the Haedoji Theater, 138 seats on floor 3 are designated restricted-view and are not sold: row A seats 1–38, 52–62 and 75–80; rows B, C and D seats 1–9; and row E seats 1–32, 39–50, 65–70 and 75–80.

For children's productions the withheld area grows: 99 seats on floor 2 (rows A and E seats 1–36, rows B, C and D seats 1–9, among others) plus the whole of floor 3. That is why the Haedoji Theater carries a separate children's-show capacity of 1,060.

House seats are fixed for every performance. The Haedoji Theater holds 12 per show (floor 1 row B seats 64–67 and row H seats 33–36, floor 2 row C seats 15–18), the Dalmaji Theater holds 6 (floor 1 row A seats 55–58 and row E seats 47–48), and the Byeolmuri Theater holds 2 (row C seats 25–26).

How do the Dalmaji and Byeolmuri theatres differ?

The Dalmaji Theater is a mid-size house where the back row of the balcony is 22 metres from the stage. Floor 1 splits into a front group of blocks A to C and a rear group of blocks D to F; floor 2 is a balcony of blocks A, B and C with a 12-seat side section at each end.

Head-on views are in block B at the front and block E behind the aisle. Block E's front rows are open in front for the same reason block H is in the Haedoji Theater. The Dalmaji balcony is close enough to the stage to be an easier upstairs choice than Haedoji's floor 3.

The Byeolmuri Theater is a 140-seat studio for plays and experimental work. Block B in the middle faces the stage, but the sound and lighting control booth sits immediately behind it, and side blocks A and C each carry one row more than B.

How many cars fit in the car park?

The total is 505 spaces. The foundation's parking page breaks it into 159 on the surface, 204 on the upper underground level and 142 on the lower one, and the three figures add up to the published total exactly.

No parking tariff is published on the foundation's parking page. For the rate, and for whether ticket holders get anything off it, call +82-31-481-4000 before you go.

Can an SUV or a large vehicle use the underground car park?

The underground levels have a 2 metre height limit. If your vehicle is taller than that, or carries a roof box, you need one of the 159 surface spaces. The 4 oversize bays and all 21 accessible bays are on the surface too, so the foundation's advice is for large vehicles and blue-badge holders to head straight there.

How do you get there without a car?

It is a five-minute walk from Exit 1 of Gojan station on Line 4. The address is 312 Hwarang-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do.

City buses 11, 22, 23, 30, 52, 66, 99, 123 and 350 stop on the church side; 6-1 and 97 stop on the stream side; and 98, 99-1 and 500 stop in front of Gojan station. Seated express buses 707 and 909 also serve the area. From Gangnam in Seoul, routes 700, 700-1 and 3300 run via Gangnam and Yangjae stations — get off at Ansan Police Station and walk five minutes.

What about wheelchair spaces and concession fares?

There are 18 wheelchair spaces on floor 1 of the Haedoji Theater and 8 on floor 1 of the Dalmaji Theater. In the Haedoji they sit in blocks C, G and I; in the Dalmaji they are at the end rows of blocks D and F.

The surface car park has 21 accessible bays and a dedicated lift. On the foundation's own productions, disabled visitors and national-merit holders get 50 percent off for themselves and one companion, and senior visitors get 50 percent off for themselves; proof has to be shown at the box office.

Where do you leave bags and children?

Large bags are not meant to go into the auditorium, and there is a left-luggage counter in the lobby. Cameras, food and drink, bouquets, rustling shopping bags and bulky coats are all better left there.

The children's play room is on the ground floor of the foundation lobby and opens 15 minutes before the performance until it ends, for children from 36 months to 7 years. It can close to new arrivals once it is full.

Tickets are collected on the day with the booking number issued at purchase. The foundation asks you to arrive an hour early and to bring the booking number and photo ID. Latecomers are not admitted as a rule, and children under 7 cannot attend except at productions billed for them.

In short

1. The Haedoji Theater's capacity depends on which page you read: 1,368 or 1,573. The seating plans' floor-by-floor total and the KOPIS registry agree on 1,573; only the technical data page says 1,368.
2. 138 seats on floor 3 are never sold, and for children's shows the whole of floor 3 plus 99 seats on floor 2 come out of the allocation. That is why third-floor tickets can be invisible.
3. Parking is 505 spaces — 159 on the surface, 204 and 142 underground — with a 2 metre height limit below ground. No tariff is published, so call +82-31-481-4000.

Seating, parking and operating details here come from Ansan Cultural Foundation's Haedoji seating plan, rental technical data, rental conditions and parking page, all checked in September 2026. The comparison figures are the ones registered with KOPIS. Details change, so confirm on +82-31-481-4000 before you travel.