Uijeongbu Arts Center: parking, and the seats to avoid, August 2026

How much is parking at Uijeongbu Arts Center for a performance?

Ticket holders and course students pay a flat 1,000 won for a small car — 2,000 won for a large one — for up to five hours. Standard parking is free for the first 30 minutes and then 300 won per 10 minutes, so a two-and-a-half-hour show would run past 4,000 won. The concession is not applied automatically: you pay in advance at the information desk after showing your ticket, and driving straight out means the standard rate.

National merit recipients, welfare card holders and light cars get 50% off, and students of the foundation's arts academy and arts college qualify for a discount too.

How many parking spaces are there?

The foundation's own site gives two different answers. Its parking guide states 438 spaces including 10 accessible bays, while the accessibility guide states 423 including 13 accessible bays. Either way it is over 400, comfortably more than one performance fills — but the accessible count differs by three.

The parking guide's notice image carries a 2023-10 filename, making it the more recently updated of the two, but neither page states a revision date in its text. If an accessible bay matters to your trip, confirm on the parking line, 031-828-5885~6. Checked August 2026.

Can I use the underground car park for a late-finishing performance?

The surface car park is open 24 hours; the underground one only 08:00–22:00. A main-hall performance starting at 19:30 can finish close to 22:00 once the interval and curtain calls are counted, so park on the surface for a late show.

Does the main hall have a third level?

No — there are two levels only. Level 1 runs from row 1 to row 18 with gates 1–4; level 2 runs from row 1 to row 14 with gates 1–3. A great many people search for "third floor" seats here, and they do not exist.

By the foundation's facilities page the 대극장 (main hall) seats 1,110: 590 on level 1, 424 on level 2, 12 wheelchair spaces and 84 orchestra-pit seats, on a stage of 1,147㎡.

KOPIS, Korea's public performing-arts database, records 1,025 for the main hall and 233 for the small hall — different from the venue on both counts. KOPIS is 85 seats lower for the main hall and, in the other direction, 15 higher for the small one. The foundation's figures look like the post-refit count. Either way, the number actually on sale changes with the production: using the orchestra pit as stage removes those 84 front seats, and some productions withhold restricted-view seats. Both figures appear on the Uijeongbu Arts Center venue page.

Which seats are best on level 1 of the main hall?

The centre block, seats 15–26, and within it the low twenties. The official seating plan splits level 1 into a left block (1–14), a centre block (15–26) and a right block (27–40), and only the centre block keeps a constant width of 12 seats from row 1 all the way to row 17 — the least head-turning in the house.

Three more things read off the same plan:

• The front rows are short. Row 1 runs only from seat 8 to seat 33, widening as the fan opens. There is no "row 1, seat 1".
• Rows 17 and 18 change shape. Row 17 keeps only the centre and the two ends; row 18 is a stub of roughly seats 13–14 and 27–28. Booking it as "second from the back" can land you in a corner.
• Wheelchair spaces sit in two places. H1–H4 at the outer ends of rows 5–6, H5–H12 behind row 18 — 12 in total, matching the "12 wheelchair seats" on the facilities page exactly.

Which seats are best on level 2 of the main hall?

Rows 4–6, centre. Rows 7–10 have no centre seats at all. The plan shows the middle of rows 7 to 10 left blank, because that is the sound and lighting control booth. Those four rows exist only as left and right blocks, so even the most central seat in them is already off to one side.

At the same price, centre seats in rows 11–13 can beat rows 7–10. Note too that level 2 numbers run 1–38 against level 1's 1–40, so "seat 20" does not sit in quite the same place on the two levels.

Is the back of the small hall still close to the stage?

Yes — it is a single-level, 218-seat room that ends at row 12. By the foundation's facilities page that is 214 seats plus 4 wheelchair spaces, on a stage of 267㎡. There is no balcony to weigh up.

Rows run 1 to 12 through gates 1–3, with seat numbers in the range 1–27. Two things stand out on the plan:

• Row 1 is the narrowest and row 12 the widest. Row 1 covers only seats 8–20, while row 12 spreads from 1 to 27 — the same fan as the main hall, opening far more sharply.
• Rows 11 and 12 have no centre block. Seats 10–18 disappear from row 11 onward, leaving only the side blocks, so a "dead centre, back row" booking will not work out.

Choosing within rows 1–10, where the centre block (seats 10–18) still exists, is the safe move. Wheelchair spaces H1–H4 are at the outer ends of rows 4–5, comparatively close to the stage.

How do wheelchair users get into the main hall?

Take the lift to level 2 of the main hall, then move to the space behind the level 1 auditorium on either side. It is not a direct descent to level 1, which is worth knowing before you arrive. Accessible parking is 6 underground and 7 on the surface, which is not generous — allow extra time.

Ticket discounts apply only to the foundation's own productions and exhibitions; for hired-in performances the promoter decides, so check per event.

A welfare or merit card can only be used to book in the holder's own name, and turning up without the card on the day means paying twice the face value.

When do doors close, and what can I not bring in?

Doors usually open 30 minutes before curtain, and you should be seated at least 10 minutes before. Once a performance has started, entry is refused as a rule; where it is allowed at a set point, an usher seats you elsewhere and you move to your booked seat at the interval.

Food, drinks, cameras and bouquets cannot be taken into the auditorium. They go to the cloakroom in the lobby, and noisy shopping bags and bulky coats are best left there too. For coffee or a snack there is Cafe Arts on level 1 of the small hall, open Monday to Saturday 09:00–18:00 and, on performance days, from two hours before curtain.

Can I bring a young child?

There is a kids' room on level 3 for accompanied preschoolers aged 3 to 7. It is open from 30 minutes before curtain until the performance ends, and its 29㎡ has soft flooring and padded columns. Children under three cannot be left there.

Note as well that performances for adults do not admit children under 8, that is, below school age. Children's plays and children's ballet are the exception.

How do I get there without a car?

The light rail is much closer than Uijeongbu station: from exit 1 of Uijeongbu City Hall station it is about a six-minute walk, straight towards city hall.

A taxi from the rank at exit 3 of Uijeongbu station costs about the base fare. By car from the Dobong side of Seoul: Seobu Expressway → Howon overpass → left at the Arts Center junction → 100m then left; from Guri and Toegyewon via the ring road at Howon IC, from Songchu via Gyeongmin Plaza on national route 3. The address is 1 Uijeong-ro, Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, and the main line is 031-828-5841.

In short

1. Pay in advance at the information desk with your ticket for the five-hour 1,000 won rate, and use the 24-hour surface car park for a late-finishing show.
2. There is no level 3, and rows 7–10 of level 2 have no centre seats because the control booth sits there. Aim for rows 4–6 upstairs, or the low twenties of the centre block downstairs.
3. The venue counts 1,110 and 218 seats; KOPIS records 1,025 and 233. What is actually on sale varies by production, so trust the plan on the booking screen.

Parking rates and counts, transport, accessibility and hall capacities here were checked in August 2026 against the Uijeongbu Cultural Foundation's parking guide, accessibility guide, directions page, facilities page and seating plans; the block and row detail is read off those official plans. Rates and hours change, so check again just before you go. More venue guides are on our visiting tips page.