Jeongdong Theater vs Jeongdong Theater Cecil — where 326 and 232 seats come from, plus parking, lockers and access (September 2026)

Are 국립정동극장 and 국립정동극장 세실 the same place?

No. The National Jeongdong Theater (국립정동극장) and Jeongdong Theater Cecil (국립정동극장 세실) are run by the same foundation but are separate venues in separate buildings. The main house is a 326-seat theatre at 43 Jeongdong-gil, Jung-gu; Cecil is a 232-seat theatre about five minutes' walk away at 16 Sejong-daero 19-gil. Ticketing sites list the two names side by side, so check the venue line on your booking confirmation before you set off.

The theatre's own history page records that the main house opened in 1995 as a branch of the National Theater of Korea, became an independent foundation in 1997, merged with Myeongdong Theater in 2008, separated again in 2015, and took its present name in 2021. Cecil opened as a private theatre in 1976 and reopened under Jeongdong Theater's management in 2022.

Exactly how many seats does the main house have?

326. The facility summary on the venue page says "a 326-seat theatre", and adding up the numbered seats drawn on the seat map on that same page gives exactly 326. KOPIS, Korea's public performing-arts database, also registers the hall at 326.

What matters when you book is that 60 of those 326 are orchestra-pit seats. A note on the seat map says that "rows D, E and F are seats that may be used as auditorium seating depending on the production" — so for anything that uses the pit, those 60 never go on sale and the house effectively holds 266.

The same note adds that "the orchestra-pit seats (all of rows D, E and F) and seats 1–7 in row A, 1–8 in row B and 1–7 in row C sit below stage level, with no rake between them." That is 82 seats in total: the front row of each block plus the pit. You look up at the stage from them, and there is no step up between rows, so the front row is not automatically the good seat here.

Is Cecil 232 seats or 234?

Both numbers are in circulation, and they do not actually contradict each other. Cecil's official capacity is 232; the 234 registered with KOPIS is what you get by counting seat numbers rather than seats.

Counting the seat map on the Cecil venue page block by block:

Only block C disagrees with its own numbering. On the map, the positions of seats 43 and 44 and of seat 49 in the row behind are taken up by a single wheelchair bay, so the numbers run to 64 while there are only 61 chairs. That makes A 64 + B 106 + C 64 = 234 a sum of numbers, and 231 real seats plus one wheelchair space = 232 the official capacity.

The 234 in KOPIS is the number-sum carried straight through. Book against 232.

Cecil is a flexible space whose stage and seating are rearranged from production to production. After the 2018 refurbishment it was presented with the audience facing each other from two sides and swivel chairs in the middle. Check the seat map on the ticketing page for the specific show you are booking.

KOPIS says 국립정동극장 has 376 seats — what are the other 50?

정동마루 (Jeongdongmaru). KOPIS registers the theatre as one facility containing two halls: the 326-seat main auditorium and a 50-seat space called 정동마루, which is where the 376 comes from. The hall that productions actually play in is the 326-seat one.

정동마루 opened in 2017 on the first floor above Cafe Jeongdam. The official description gives it a floor area of 143㎡ and a capacity of 60 seated or 80 standing — ten more than the 50 registered with KOPIS. It hosts a traditional-music concert on the first Tuesday of each month.

One more caution: the facility-level record in KOPIS lists 국립정동극장 at 850 seats, which matches neither the 376 hall total nor the official 326. If you want the theatre's capacity, use 326 for the main auditorium.

What do wheelchair users need to check in advance?

This is the most important section of this guide. The main auditorium is one level below ground, and the 1995 building has no lift.

The theatre's own accessibility page states it plainly: "The theatre is below ground, so you have to come down the stairs. Jeongdong Theater is an old building, built in 1995, and no lift is installed. The stairs are outdoors and can be slippery when it rains or snows." Wheelchair users can come down by platform lift, and the same page says "if you need to use the lift, please call 02-751-1500." Call ahead rather than on the day.

The KOPIS record is wrong on this point. Its accessibility fields list the theatre as having a lift and as not having an accessible toilet; the theatre says the opposite — no lift, and an accessible toilet inside each of the men's and women's toilets. If you are reading a page that cites the public dataset, do not trust it on these two fields.

Where should you park for each theatre?

Neither venue has a car park for audiences, and the paid car parks each one recommends are different, so pick by destination.

The parking page recommends two for the main house.

For Cecil, the venue page states that "as a Seoul Future Heritage building, no separate parking is provided" and recommends one car park.

Several public car parks — the Seoul Museum of Art, the Seosomun and main Seoul City Hall buildings — are also within walking distance, but they are not in the theatre's own guidance and their rates change often, so no rates are quoted here. Note also that the KOPIS record lists the theatre as having a car park, while the theatre's own page says "parking at the theatre is insufficient; we sincerely ask you to use public transport."

Where are the lockers, and how many are there?

Thirty at the main house, at the theatre entrance one level below ground, and twelve at Cecil, beside the box office. Both are unattended keypad lockers under CCTV.

The main-house bank is five columns of six doors, numbered 01 to 30. The box office is on the same lower-ground level, so you can collect your ticket and drop your bag in one stop.

Cecil has two columns of six, numbered 01 to 12 — fewer than half the main house's. They can fill up right before a show, and the compartments are not large, so a suitcase is unlikely to fit. If you are carrying luggage, arrive with time to spare.

The theatre's website does not publish locker counts or charges. The numbers above come from counting the door labels in photographs of each bank.

Which subway exit should you use?

Both are in the City Hall / Gwanghwamun area, but the recommended exits differ. These are the exits given on the theatre's directions page.

The two theatres are within walking distance of each other. As above, though, they are different buildings — check the venue on your ticket before you leave.

What is there to do before and after a show?

The main-house lobby opens one hour before curtain, and that is also when the box office starts issuing tickets. There is a water dispenser and a photo spot in the lobby, and the toilets are there too — they are small and get busy right before the show.

Cafe Jeongdam, to the left of the theatre, is open 10:00–22:00 on weekdays and 11:00–20:00 at weekends, and shows a 10% discount on coffee if you present a ticket for that day's performance. Note that nothing but bottled water may be taken into the auditorium, so drink the coffee before you go in.

In good weather you can wait in the outdoor courtyard. Both the cafe and the courtyard are open to anyone, ticket or not.

In short

1. They are different theatres with similar names. The main house is 326 seats at 43 Jeongdong-gil; Cecil is 232 seats at 16 Sejong-daero 19-gil. Both figures were verified here by adding up the official seat maps block by block.
2. Each number has a catch. Sixty of the main house's 326 are orchestra-pit seats that may not go on sale at all, and Cecil's KOPIS figure of 234 is a sum of seat numbers, two more than the real 232.
3. The main auditorium is below ground with no lift. Wheelchair users need the platform lift, so call 02-751-1500 in advance. Neither venue has its own parking, and the lockers number 30 at the main house and 12 at Cecil.

Checked in September 2026 against Jeongdong Theater's own main house, Cecil, parking, accessibility, directions and history pages, and against the KOPIS registration for the seat comparison. Locker counts were taken by counting door labels in photographs. Parking rates and opening hours change — call 02-751-1500 before you go.