Parking at Kim Daejung Convention Center: 958 spaces right now, and whether to drive

When a big concert lands in Gwangju, nine times out of ten it is at Kim Daejung Convention Center. The first thing people worry about after buying a ticket is whether to drive, and right now the answer is not what it used to be.

Should I drive to a concert at Kim Daejung Convention Center?

For a show of 2,000 or more in the Multi-purpose Hall, take the subway. Only 958 parking spaces are currently usable and the Multi-purpose Hall holds up to 3,000 people, so if even one person in three drives there is not enough room. For a Convention Hall event of 1,200 or fewer, driving is generally fine.

There is one more variable. If a trade fair is running in the exhibition halls on the same day, concertgoers and fair visitors share the same car parks. The venue's own event calendar shows whether the dates overlap.

How many cars can park at Kim Daejung Convention Center?

There are 958 usable spaces at present: 480 in the indoor car park and 478 in Outdoor Car Park 1. Outdoor Car Park 2 adds another 565, but it is temporarily closed for repairs and is not counted. As of September 2026 that is exactly how the official parking page presents it.

In plain numbers, a site that normally holds 1,523 cars is running at 958, about 63% of capacity. One detail in that table is worth acting on: the indoor car park has 15 accessible bays while Outdoor Car Park 1 has 51, more than three times as many. If you use a wheelchair or are travelling with someone who does, aim for Outdoor Car Park 1 from the start.

When the venue car parks fill, the last resort is the public car park behind the centre, about 50m away, which is barely a minute on foot. It is not unlimited either, so arriving close to the start time is a gamble.

How much is parking at Kim Daejung Convention Center, and when does the daily cap apply?

Outdoor Car Park 1 costs exactly half what the indoor car park costs. Indoors it is 700 won for the first 30 minutes then 350 won per additional 15 minutes; outdoors it is 350 won and 175 won. The daily cap is 8,000 won indoors and 4,000 won outdoors.

Reckoning three hours for a concert, that is 4,200 won indoors and 2,100 won outdoors. Four hours comes to 5,600 won and 2,800 won. The daily cap is reached at about five hours forty-five minutes, after which nothing more is added beyond 8,000 won indoors and 4,000 won outdoors. If you are staying for a rehearsal or a merchandise queue, the arithmetic gets simple.

Large vehicles cannot enter the indoor car park at all, which the monthly rate table confirms by marking the indoor option as not permitted. If you are driving something big, head for Outdoor Car Park 1 from the outset.

How long does the subway take to Kim Daejung Convention Center?

Take Gwangju Metro Line 1 to Kim Daejung Convention Center (Mareuk) station, leave by Exit 5, and walk straight ahead for three minutes. That is exactly how the venue's own directions page puts it, and it avoids both the parking scramble and the jam when a show lets out.

By bus, the right stop depends on which gate you want. Matching the hall name on your ticket to a gate before you set off saves wandering on arrival.

The address, as the centre prints it on its own site, is 30 Sangmunuri-ro, Seo-gu (1159-2 Chipyeong-dong), postcode 61958. The main number is 062-611-2000.

Is my show in the exhibition hall, the Multi-purpose Hall or the Convention Hall?

Three indoor spaces at Kim Daejung Convention Center host performances. The names look alike but the floor, the size and the seating are completely different, so check the hall name on your ticket.

The exhibition space is 9,072㎡ without a single column, divided into halls A, B and C at 3,024㎡ each. With no fixed seating, this is where standing shows and temporary-seating shows happen.

No columns means no seat where a structure blocks the view. The floor is flat, though, so what you can see still depends on the height of the person in front of you.

Beyond the three indoor halls, the venue rate card also lists Open Hall at 1,000㎡, Concourse Hall at 2,500㎡, an outdoor stage of 263.84㎡, and an outdoor plaza from 1,322㎡ up to 5,000㎡. Any of those names can turn up on a ticket or a notice when a show has a fringe event or an outdoor stage attached.

How do the tiered and flat-floor seats differ in the Multi-purpose Hall?

Tiered seating rises towards the back, so the person in front rarely blocks you; temporary seating laid on the flat floor can give a poor view even close to the stage. Only 1,010 of the Multi-purpose Hall's 3,000 seats are retractable tiered seats, so checking whether your block is tiered or flat often matters more than the price grade.

The Multi-purpose Hall is 2,955㎡ (78.3m × 37.6m) with a 12m ceiling and a stage of 8m × 23.5m × 1.5m, built as an auditorium. It can also be split into halls 1 and 2 at 1,478㎡ each. The Multi-purpose Hall page lists something besides seating: space for 126 booths at 3m × 3m, which makes clear this is not a concert-only room.

At 12m the ceiling is high enough to rig stage lighting and sound properly. Large screens are common here, which softens the penalty for a seat at the back.

Our own KOPIS venue registration also records 3,000 seats for the Multi-purpose Hall, matching the operator's published maximum. The same registration records zero seats for the exhibition halls and the outdoor plaza, which is consistent with neither having fixed seating.

Which floor is the Convention Hall on and how many people does it hold?

The Convention Hall is a column-free 1,518㎡ space on the fourth floor, divisible into halls 1, 2 and 3 at 506㎡ each with an 8m ceiling. All three open together hold 1,200 theatre-style, 850 classroom-style and 600 for a banquet. International and academic conferences are the main use, but small concerts and fan meetings happen here too.

The Convention Hall page also gives a capacity per hall, and there is something worth noticing in it. All three halls are 506㎡, yet hall 3 seats only 200 theatre-style against 300 in halls 1 and 2.

The three halls add up to 800 theatre-style while the combined figure is 1,200. Opening them all returns the partition lines to seating, which means a divided event and a combined one cannot be judged on the same scale.

The Convention Hall being on the fourth floor means allowing extra time for the escalators and lifts. When 1,200 people leave at once, the stairs can be quicker.

Where are the luggage lockers and how many are there?

There are 116 paid lockers in total, in two places on the first floor of the exhibition building. The main bank sits in front of Multi-purpose Hall 2, and prices vary by small, medium and large. Enquiries go to 062-611-2134.

That figure of 116 is worth knowing in advance. For a 3,000-seat show it works out at roughly one locker per 26 people, so competition is fierce. If you plan to store a bag, arrive well before doors.

What else is there to use before and after a show?

The information desk, convenience store and cafe are clustered by the south gate (Gates 1 and 2) on the first floor of the exhibition building. The desk handles venue enquiries and also lends prams and wheelchairs.

If you need cash, the Gwangju Bank ATM on the centre plaza is the only withdrawal point. If you need flowers, there is a florist by Gate 3 on the first floor of the exhibition building.

One correction worth making: Cafe With at the north gate (Gate 4), the Delihouse buffet on the second floor of the convention building, and the Gwangju city VR showroom all appear in older guides, but none of them is on the venue's current amenities list. Planning around any of the three could mean a wasted trip.

In short

1. Only 958 spaces are usable. With Outdoor Car Park 2 closed for repairs, that is about 63% of normal capacity, so for a large Multi-purpose Hall concert, Metro Line 1 should be the first option.
2. Outdoor Car Park 1 costs exactly half the indoor rate, and large vehicles cannot use the indoor car park at all. The daily cap is reached at about five hours forty-five minutes.
3. Check the hall name on your ticket first. The exhibition halls and the Multi-purpose Hall are on the first floor of the exhibition building, the Convention Hall is on the fourth, and the nearest bus stop differs by gate.

Every figure here was checked in September 2026 against Kim Daejung Convention Center's own parking, directions, exhibition hall, Multi-purpose Hall, Convention Hall and amenities pages. No reopening date has been announced for Outdoor Car Park 2, so confirm on 062-611-2000 shortly before you travel.