Hanam Arts Center Seating: Ga, Na and Da Are Blocks, Not Rows — and 62 of the Balcony's 217 Seats Are Marked Restricted View

What do ga-yeol, na-yeol and da-yeol mean at Hanam Arts Center?

They are left-to-right blocks, not rows. Read them like row A and row B and you will pick the wrong seat on the booking screen. Based on the seating charts on the centre's official seat viewer, the layout is this.

That arrangement comes from the coordinates of the image map laid over the seating charts. Plotting where each seat's view-photo link sits on the drawing puts every ga-yeol seat on the right of the image, na-yeol in the centre and da-yeol on the left. The same coordinates show that within a block, a higher seat number sits further from the stage — so numbering runs front to back inside each block. That is why "na-yeol 116" lands around row 11.

The block counts check out. Geomdan Hall's stalls give 199 + 220 + 199 = 618 and its balcony 70 + 77 + 70 = 217, both matching the centre's own per-level totals; Arang Hall gives 108 + 133 + 108 = 349, plus 6 wheelchair spaces for 355.

How do Geomdan Hall and Arang Hall differ?

Geomdan Hall is a two-level main theatre; Arang Hall is a single-level studio. They share a site but have separate buildings and separate entrances, so the first thing to check is which hall your ticket names.

Which seats are best in Geomdan Hall's stalls?

The centre na-yeol block, specifically rows 11 to 13 just behind the cross aisle. The stalls divide into a front block of 10 rows and a rear block of 10, and the first row behind the aisle is far enough back that heads stop blocking you while the whole stage still fits in one view.

The seats to avoid are marked on the chart itself. The restricted-view seats are ga-yeol 1, 2, 10, 11 and 20 plus da-yeol 8, 9, 18, 19 and 29 — and there is not a single one among na-yeol's 220 centre seats. All of them are outer ends of the first few rows, so choosing the centre block removes the question entirely. The 10 wheelchair spaces sit behind the last row, five on the ga side and five on the da side.

The front rows suit plays and recitals, where expression and hand movement carry the evening. The trade-off is that the full stage will not fit in one view and you end up looking slightly upward.

For a musical or a ballet, where ensemble movement and scene changes are the point, the rear block is the more comfortable choice. The official view photo from na-yeol 116, immediately behind the aisle, captures both stage edges and the ceiling reflector, with only the tops of the seatbacks in front intruding at the bottom.

From which row should I book in Geomdan Hall's balcony?

From row 3. The balcony is seven rows deep and rows 1 and 2 are designated restricted view in their entirety. The chart gives the ranges as ga-yeol 1–20, na-yeol 1–22 and da-yeol 1–20.

Add those up and you get 62 seats. That is 28.6% of the balcony's 217 — close to three seats in every ten officially marked as having an obstructed view. Here, advice to avoid the front of the balcony is not a matter of taste.

The official view photo from ga-yeol 21, row 3 at the right end, catches both the rail and the stage lighting rig along the bottom. Looking down on the stage is good for floor patterns and large ensemble work; for facial expression, bring opera glasses.

Row 7, the very back, still takes in the whole stage. Centre na-yeol 72 is square on and balanced; da-yeol 70 at the left end is angled enough that the far side of the stage starts to feel distant.

Which seats are best in Arang Hall?

Rows 5 to 9 of centre na-yeol. Arang Hall's 355 seats sit on one level close to the stage, so the stage looks large from anywhere — but the restricted-view seats cluster at the front, which removes any reason to fight for row 1.

The chart designates these as restricted view.

That is 45 seats, 12.9% of the 349 once wheelchair spaces are set aside. Lower than Geomdan Hall's balcony, but all of them are at the front — exactly where "it's a small theatre, so sit at the front" lands you.

Arang Hall also has a cross aisle between its front and rear blocks, and its 6 wheelchair spaces sit beside it, three in ga-yeol and three in da-yeol, reached by the auditorium's wheelchair lift.

Both behind the aisle and in the back row, the whole stage sits comfortably in view. For chamber music or a recital, where you want to take in the stage as a whole, the rear block is a perfectly good choice.

Which seats can I preview with a photo or in VR?

Twenty in Geomdan Hall and fourteen in Arang Hall. The seating charts on the centre's seat-viewer page carry links on specific seats only, and those are the seats whose real view you can check in advance.

Note in particular that wheelchair spaces have their own VR tours — Geomdan's ga-side space 6 and Arang's ga-side space 4. Since wheelchair seats cannot be booked online at all, being able to check the view before phoning is genuinely useful.

The photos reflect the day they were taken, so allow for small differences from what you will actually see.

What does parking cost at Hanam Arts Center?

1,000 won for up to three hours if you show your ticket for a performance or exhibition. The standard rate is 800 won for the first 30 minutes, then 300 won per 10 minutes.

The gap is substantial. Two hours at the standard rate works out at 800 + 300 × 9 = 3,500 won, against 1,000 won with a ticket — so keeping hold of your ticket until you leave saves 2,500 won.

State merit recipients, registered disabled drivers, vehicles displaying a low-emission permit and kei cars under 1,000cc get 50% off, with one catch: the discount cannot be applied during unstaffed hours. The car park runs 24 hours, staffed on performance days and on a mixed staffed/unstaffed basis on closing days and outside performance hours.

Commercial vehicles, vehicles of 2.5 tonnes or more carrying flammable material, and special-purpose vehicles may not park. For parking, call the car park office on 031-790-7991.

Are there 199 parking spaces or 200?

The centre's own pages disagree, so here are both.

The dedicated parking page is the more reliable of the two. It gives a breakdown — 179 standard, 7 accessible, 2 expectant mothers, 4 senior, 2 state merit, 3 bus and 2 EV charging — and that adds to exactly 199. The directions page only says "200 spaces (including 4 senior and 5 accessible)", with nothing to check it against. On accessible spaces specifically, two of the three pages say five, so that is worth confirming on arrival.

Either way, the point stands: roughly 200 spaces for a 911-seat theatre. The centre itself asks visitors to use public transport where possible, given how small the car park is relative to the auditorium.

There are two vehicle entrances: the main gate on Sinpyeong-ro and the rear gate on Deokpungdong-ro. Accessible and senior parking is grouped along the path from the main gate to Geomdan Hall, and the same map marks the Hanam History Museum underground car park on the northern edge of the site.

By public transport, Hanam City Hall Station on Line 5 is a two-minute walk and much the easiest option. By bus, routes 16 and Maeul 3 stop at Hanam Arts Center (stops 28-249 and 28-250), a one-minute walk; Maeul 3-1, 3-2, 5 and 10 stop at Hanam Arts Center / Hanam Cultural Centre (stops 28-084 and 28-380), a three-minute walk.

How do I book a wheelchair space?

By phone or in person only. The wheelchair spaces — 10 in Geomdan Hall, 6 in Arang Hall — cannot be booked online or on mobile. Book at the box office or by calling 031-790-7979, and say in advance whether a companion will be attending.

The discount applies to the centre's own productions. For hired-in productions and exhibitions, the discount is left to the hirer's discretion — check each production's detail page. When collecting your ticket on the day you must show your own disability welfare card; without it you pay the difference.

Geomdan Hall has a family viewing room. House rules still bar pre-school children from general performances, with children's shows the exception, so check the age guidance for the specific production if you are coming with a child.

What should I check on the day?

Where the box office is, first of all. It sits inside Arang Hall, so even for a Geomdan Hall performance, phone and walk-up bookings and wheelchair enquiries are handled on the Arang side. The main number is 031-790-7979.

• Ticket collection — from one hour before curtain at the exchange desk in the main foyer, with ID or your booking confirmation
• Online booking cut-off — card payment until 5pm the day before (11am the day before for Saturday performances); bank transfer until four days before
• Postal delivery — arrange on 1544-1555 (NOL Interpark); postage is 3,200 won extra
• Latecomers — admission to the auditorium is restricted once a performance starts, and stewards seat you in the latecomers' area; be seated by 10 minutes before
• Not allowed — presenting bouquets, photography and video, and food and drink. Bottled water with a lid may be taken in
• Discount proof — Hanam resident, multi-child, disability and state merit discounts cannot be combined, and without documentation you may be refused entry
• Cancellation fees — 10% of the ticket price from 9 to 1 days before; a flat fee 10 or more days out (4,000 won for musicals, concerts and classical; 2,000 won for plays and exhibitions, capped at 10%). Cancelling on the day you booked is free

Public holidays get their own notices, typically covering box office closures and free parking together, so check the notice board before a holiday visit.

Do the KOPIS figures agree with the centre's own?

The seat counts and wheelchair spaces match exactly. This compares the Hanam Arts Center record in KOPIS, Korea's performing-arts data network, with the centre's own pages.

The last two rows run the other way for once. The centre publishes no stage area for either hall, while KOPIS holds 689㎡ for Geomdan and 340㎡ for Arang — a case of the dataset filling in what the venue leaves out. Both sources also confirm Geomdan Hall's orchestra pit.

KOPIS records the centre's opening year as 2007 and lists the exhibition hall as a third 25-capacity space, giving a combined figure of 1,291. The phone number is the same on both sides: 031-790-7979.

In short

1. Ga, na and da are blocks, not rows. Ga is on your right facing the stage, na is the centre, da is on your left, and seat numbers run front to back within each block. In Geomdan Hall's stalls, na-yeol's 220 seats are the big centre block.
2. Start at row 3 in Geomdan Hall's balcony. All 62 seats in rows 1 and 2 are officially restricted view — 28.6% of the balcony's 217. Arang Hall has 45 restricted-view seats at the front too, which makes rows 5 to 9 of centre na-yeol the safe choice.
3. Keep your ticket until you leave the car park. Two hours costs 3,500 won at the standard rate and 1,000 won with a ticket. With only 199 spaces for a 911-seat hall, though, Hanam City Hall Station on Line 5 — two minutes on foot — is the easier arrival on a busy night.

Block layouts, seat counts and restricted-view ranges were checked on 24 September 2026 against the seating charts and their image maps on Hanam Arts Center's official seat viewer; parking rates and space counts against the parking guide and directions page; wheelchair spaces and discounts against the accessibility guide; booking and house rules against the ticketing and etiquette pages. Seat counts were cross-checked against the Hanam Arts Center record in KOPIS. Rates and operating arrangements change; confirm on 031-790-7979 or 031-790-7991 for parking.