National Gugak Center seating and parking: Yeakdang, Umyeondang, Pungnyu Sarangbang and Yeonhui Madang

Open the seating chart to book a ticket at the National Gugak Center and four hall names come up. Yeakdang, Umyeondang, Pungnyu Sarangbang and Yeonhui Madang differ in size, in how you sit, and even in whether the seats are numbered at all.

The numbers are the first confusing part. Within the centre's own website Yeakdang is given as both 706 and 658 seats, Umyeondang as both 231 and 348, and Yeonhui Madang as both 700 and 1,000. Below, three official pages — the seating charts, the facility guide and the Yeonhui Pungnyu Theatre introduction — are cross-checked against the venue's KOPIS registration to say which figure is current. Checked August 2026.

How do the four halls differ?

In one line: Yeakdang is the main house, Umyeondang a small natural-acoustic hall, Pungnyu Sarangbang a floor-seated salon, and Yeonhui Madang an open-air amphitheatre. Knowing that much makes choosing a ticket far easier.

Added up, 1,719 seats are actually on sale across the four halls. The venue-level total in KOPIS is larger than that because Jinakdang (600 seats) is still registered, marked "폐관" — closed. It does not appear in the centre's own list of halls.

It helps to know the site layout too. Going anticlockwise from the main steps and courtyard: Umyeondang → rehearsal and office building → Damsowon → Yeakdang → cafeteria → Gugak Training Hall → Yeonhui Pungnyu Theatre → Gugak Museum. Pungnyu Sarangbang and Yeonhui Madang are both inside the Yeonhui Pungnyu Theatre building.

Is Yeakdang 706 seats or 658?

The official facility guide and the KOPIS registration both say 658. The 706 figure appears only in the heading of the seating-chart page; the diagram description further down that same page says 658.

So two of the three sources point at 658 and only one at 706. Either way, neither is necessarily the number on sale for your performance. Rows 1–3 on level 1 are movable seating: 24 two-seat units (48 seats) and 8 three-seat units (24 seats). Productions that need a deeper stage change how that block is used, so the booking page is the accurate count. Yeakdang opened in 1996.

Which seats have the steadiest view in Yeakdang?

The centre block of rows Na and Da. Seating divides into rows Ga, Na, Da and Ra as seen from the stage: Na and Da are the centre, Ga and Ra the left and right sides. The hall's defining feature is that levels 1 and 2 run together as a single rake, with level 3 separate above. A ticket marked "level 2" is not a distant upper tier — it is the continuation of the stalls.

Even within level 1 the angle differs sharply between the side rows and the centre. The squarest view is by the centre aisle in row Na.

A few more things worth knowing before you book.

• The lighting, video and sound control room sits behind rows Na and Da on level 2, between rows 17–19 of Ga and 16–18 of Ra. Treat seats near it as having a wall behind them.
• Byeoljwa and Byeolu on level 3 are side balconies, so you watch the stage at an angle. The Gugak FM broadcast booth in front of Byeolu is no longer in use.
• Entrances: level 1 at rows 7–9 of Ga (right) and rows 7–9 of Ra (left); level 2 at rows 16–18 of Ga (left) and rows 15–17 of Ra (right); level 3 at the very back of Ga and Ra.
• KOPIS registers 8 wheelchair spaces, and the seating chart names 6 of them in front of the level 2 Ra entrance. The per-level breakdown reads differently in the page's text and in its diagram, so if you need one, confirm on 02-580-3300.

How the two levels connect is obvious once you sit down and look back: the seating climbs in steps behind the level 1 doors and carries on up to level 2, with an open truss ceiling above.

Is Umyeondang 231 seats or 348?

231. The 348 figure predates the 2017 reopening, and part of the old description survives on the Umyeondang seating-chart page, so both numbers still appear together there. The KOPIS registration also says 231, with 4 wheelchair spaces — matching the current chart.

Umyeondang opened in 1988 and reopened in 2017 as a natural-acoustic hall. Sound reaches you without passing through speakers, which makes it one of the rare halls where you can think about the sound before the seat.

Which seat should you pick in Umyeondang?

With only 231 seats, even the back rows are close to the stage. For a head-on view take row Na; to be near the stage from the side, take the row 7 balcony in Ga or Da. There is one level 1 entrance between Ga and Na and another between Na and Da, so arriving late still means a short walk.

Do you take your shoes off in Pungnyu Sarangbang?

Yes — it is a 130-seat hall with floor seating, entered without shoes. It is built around the idea of a scholar's music room, and the seats are cushioned floor chairs. Comfortable socks and loose clothing matter more here than you would expect.

Pungnyu Sarangbang's wheelchair provision is one of the few figures where the official chart and the KOPIS registration agree exactly, at 10 places — and it is the most of any of the four halls. The lighting box faces the stage from the back with the doors either side, and at 130 seats every row is close enough to hear the players' fingers and breathing.

How do you choose a seat at Yeonhui Madang?

You do not. Yeonhui Madang is an open-air theatre in the round where you sit freely on the steps, so instead of a seat number, the order you arrive in is your seat choice.

• Sections Ga, Na and Da ring the stage, with the flat madang area at the centre.
• There is a lift behind section Ga and a sound control room behind section Na, with lawn seating to either side.
• The madang seating is flat and level with the front of the stage, which puts you right up against the performance.
• Yeonhui Madang is at the height of the third floor of the Yeonhui Pungnyu Theatre, so you go up by stairs or lift. Facing the stage, the lift is at 2 o'clock and the stairs at 11, 1, 5 and 7 o'clock; the 5 o'clock staircase is the main one.

Capacity depends which source you read. The Yeonhui Pungnyu Theatre introduction calls it a 700-capacity open-air stage and KOPIS registers 700, while the seating-chart page carries a figure of 1,000. Since nothing is reserved, arriving early matters more than the exact capacity.

It is outdoors, so the weather reaches you unfiltered. Bring insect repellent and a seat cushion on a summer evening, and a light jacket in early autumn.

How much is parking at the National Gugak Center?

It has been chargeable since Monday 9 March 2026, and a visit for a performance or a class costs ₩4,000 for under three hours. Miss that discount and two hours at the standard rate comes to ₩12,000.

• Free if you leave within 20 minutes
• ₩45,000 daily maximum, counted in 24-hour blocks from entry
• Time beyond the discount band is charged at the standard rate
• Reductions for disabled drivers, independence and national-merit holders, and small or low-emission vehicles; these cannot be combined with the performance or exhibition discount
• Open 24 hours, excluding the underground car park
• Parking enquiries: 02-580-3019

If the car park is full you pay for a nearby one yourself, and parking outside the centre earns no discount. Depending on how busy the car park is and what is scheduled, vehicles not there for a performance or official business may be turned away.

Does the parking discount apply at weekends?

The performance and class rate carries no weekend or public-holiday surcharge. The 1.5x surcharge applies only to the standard rate and the exhibition rate. So bring your ticket for a weekend performance. The small-car and low-emission reduction cannot be combined with the performance discount, so if both apply to you, work out which is cheaper before you arrive.

Is the public-sector driving restriction still in force?

No — it was lifted entirely at midnight on 1 July 2026. This one is widely misreported, so it is worth stating precisely. Under the energy-security alert, the odd/even day restriction on public car parks became mandatory on 25 March, and from 8 April public-sector vehicles moved to an alternate-day scheme rather than the five-day one. Both were lifted at midnight on 1 July when the alert was downgraded from "warning" to "caution". Notices about it may still be on institutional websites, but it does not currently apply — though it could be reintroduced, so a glance at the notices before you travel is sensible.

How do you get there by public transport?

The National Gugak Center is not within walking distance of a subway station. Arriving by subway means one bus transfer. Factoring in the risk of a full car park, the bus is often the calmer option.

The address is 2364 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06757 and the main number is 02-580-3300.

Can you preview the view from a seat before booking?

The official site has a 360-degree "hall preview (VR)" that lets you turn around inside each hall. Reach it from the bottom of the site-plan page under Visitor Information → Facilities, or go straight to the VR page. It is most useful when the seating chart alone is not enough — for the seats near the level 2 control room in Yeakdang, or the Byeoljwa and Byeolu balconies on level 3.

To see which performances are on in which hall, check the National Gugak Center's schedule.

In short

1. In Yeakdang, aim for the centre block of rows Na and Da. The control room is behind Na and Da on level 2, and Byeoljwa and Byeolu on level 3 are side balconies.
2. Umyeondang (231 seats) and Pungnyu Sarangbang (130 seats) are small enough that every seat is close. Shoes come off in Pungnyu Sarangbang.
3. Yeonhui Madang is unreserved, so arriving early replaces choosing a seat.
4. For parking, bring your ticket and claim the performance rate of ₩4,000 for under three hours. Two hours goes from ₩12,000 to ₩4,000.

Seat counts, rates and transport details were compiled in August 2026 by cross-checking the National Gugak Center's own seating charts, facility guide, Yeonhui Pungnyu Theatre introduction, directions and parking notice against its KOPIS venue registration. Rates and operating rules can change, so check the notices again just before you travel.