'BIGBANG' 20th anniversary exhibition anchors first look at Seoul Plaza's 1,000-plus-pyeong underground space, unsealed after 40 years

335-meter tunnel-style space opens on the 24th, with holographic media art running through Sept. 27

A vast underground space spanning more than 1,000 pyeong and hidden beneath the heart of the city for 40 years has finally been unveiled, 13 meters below Seoul Plaza. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will officially open the space on the second basement level between City Hall Station and Euljiro 1-ga Station on the 24th as the 'K-Culture Station'. The first exhibition will feature 'BIGBANG', the group marking its 20th anniversary since debut.

A mysterious 335-meter tunnel awakens in the city center after 40 years

The secretive space measures 9.5 meters wide, 4.5 meters high and 335 meters long, with a total floor area of 3,261 square meters. It sits beneath the country's first underground shopping mall and above the tracks of Subway Line 2. The space is believed to have been created in the early 1980s while workers connected City Hall Station and Euljiro 1-ga Station, which had different elevations, but its precise purpose remained a mystery for decades. After its existence was first revealed to the public in September 2023, the space will welcome visitors as a 'multiuse cultural venue' equipped with state-of-the-art ventilation, fire-safety and electrical systems following nearly three years of meticulous preparation.

The opening attraction is 'COSMOS,' a media exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the debut of global K-pop legends 'BIGBANG.' The exhibition reinterprets the group's two-decade story through light, music and innovative video, offering visitors an overwhelming visual experience. Large-scale immersive content combining cutting-edge media art, holograms and 'VR' (virtual reality) fills the underground tunnel. Content company 'Creative Meot' handled the planning and operation, helping raise the exhibition's overall quality. The exhibition will run through Sept. 27 with reservations available through Naver, and it will also add a public-service dimension by inviting 1,000 children and teenagers from culturally underserved communities free of charge.

From everyday transfer station to global 'Fun Station'

Starting with the 'COSMOS' exhibition, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to continually bring in a range of content, including collaborative exhibitions with global K-pop artists, high-end fashion shows and trend-forward pop-up stores. The strategy is to transform a subway station where huge crowds pass through every day into a place for enjoying culture in everyday life and a 'global destination' that tourists from around the world will seek out.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "By combining safe public infrastructure with innovative private-sector technology and creative content, we have transformed a subway station that was merely a passageway into an attractive 'cultural destination.'" He stressed, "We will continue to discover hidden spaces across Seoul, develop them into 'Fun Stations' that offer new pleasures in everyday life, and cultivate them as key venues that will captivate global K-culture fans."