HiKR Ground - Seoul’s Best Free K-Pop & Cultural Attraction Guide

Overlooking Cheonggyecheon Stream in downtown Seoul, time to ‘K-Pop’ along to HiKR Ground, a free cultural center dedicated to all aspects of Korean life.

Opened in 2022 and a modern visitor attraction brought to life by cutting edge technology, there are five floors of activities, pop-up exhibitions and a cafe – it is perhaps best known as the place in Seoul to shoot your own K-Pop style videos at no cost!

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Many of the exhibitions are temporary so you never know what to expect at HiKR Ground – we last visited in May 2025 and discovered lots of new exhibits since our 2024 visit.

However most people head straight to floor two where there are permanent music K-Pop video stages where you take photos in a Korean laundry set, Seoul Subway recreation, a space-shuttle or on the epic and immersive ‘My Stage’.

Give a ‘Korean Wave’ and say Hallyu to our guide to HiKR Ground in Seoul with photos.

This article was originally published on cktravels.com on 2 November 2024.

You might like – Our guide to South Korea K-Pop: 15 K-Pop activities & things to do >

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Table of Contents

HiKR Ground opening hours and admission

HiKR Ground is open from 10am to 7pm daily – please note though the K-Pop level 2 section and HiKR special exhibition on level 4 is closed on Mondays. Last admission is 20 minutes before closing time.

HiKR Ground offers free admission including the K-Pop music video sets – no admission tickets are required.

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How to get to HiKR Ground in Seoul

HiKR Ground is accessible by Seoul public transport – you can take line 1 to Jonggak Station (exit 5) and it is a 2 minute walk.

Alternatively take line 2 to Euljiro 1 (il)-ga Station and it is a 4 minute walk from exit 2, or take line 5 to Gwanghwamun Station and it is an 8 minute walk from exit 5.

Check out our guide to using the T-Money card on Seoul’s public transport system here >

If you are using Seoul City Bus Tour, get off at the Jonggak / Street of Youth stop.

From April to October, try and combine your visit to HiKR with a visit to the spectacular Seoul Outdoor Library which pops up along the Cheonggyecheon Stream outside – Seoul does these types of events so well!

You might like – Our guide to K-Pop shops in Myeongdong or 40+ things to do in Myeongdong

What to expect at HiKR Ground

Likely best known for its K-Pop offerings (especially its epic ‘My Stage’ on level 2 when you can choose VR backgrounds on a huge stage), HiKR Ground is well worth a visit for any visitor to Korea (especially given it is free and no booking is required).

Upon arrival, you are greeted by staff plus the reception area has one of the biggest video walls we’ve ever seen in our life – it is so bright at night if you are passing by!

Grab an introduction leaflet (available in several languages including English) and then either take the bright purple stairs up to the next level or jump into the elevator on your right.

You might like – Our guide to 100+ things to do in Seoul >

Floor by floor guide to HiKR Ground

We last visited HiKR Ground in May 2025 where there were several temporary exhibitions on level 4 plus some new additions to the K-Pop filming sets.

There was also a new Nomad’s Capshop kiosk where you can customize your cap, a bit like the famous Nike custom stores in Hongdae and nearby Myeongdong – we aren’t sure if the Nomad Capshop is permanent or a pop-up though.

P.S If you like customising clothing and souvenirs, check out our guide to Wappen House, Seoul’s customiseable gift store guide

K-Pop Ground – Level 2

This is most likely the reason you are reading this as HiKR Ground is perhaps Seoul’s most famous free K-Pop attraction – well, that and all the K-Pop shops in Myeongdong.

K-Pop Ground lives up to the hype and it has several Korean studio sets where you can film yourself attempting to sing / dance in a K-Pop video; some of the sets even have phone / selfie mounts so you can take pictures easier.

This is also great for solo travellers in Seoul or if your friends are terrible at taking photos!

The K-Pop photo and video sets at HiKR are:

The Seoul Subway set – this is so much fun, a replica of a Seoul Metro carriage with huge LED screens projecting images like fiery lanterns.

P.S. Such is the popularity of these Metro K-Pop videos, we recently went to Taiwan’s first ever Seoul Subway style Korean photo booth in Ximending. See it here >

My Stage – a huge video wall and illuminated stage which we’ve seen on loads of TV programmes and travel documentaries.

Get up on stage with your friends and perform K-Pop classics; there is even a control booth where you can change the stage background and music tracks. This is so much fun (for all ages – we watched a group of senior citizens dance!) and it is the most popular thing to do at HiKR Ground.

Korean Coin Laundry – pose with huge washing machines, neon lights and super soap suds. Just don’t bring your actual laundry!

Color Room – the walls continually change their shade plus you can put your phone on a 360 mount that spins around the stage and takes an epic video of you. Tip – it looks better if you don’t move and you let the camera do the work. Learn from our mistake!

Space Ship K Pop set – make your dance video go intergalactic with this out of the world K-Pop video set.

HiKR Ground Seoul k-pop stage intergalactic

HiKR Convenience Store set – We love Korean convenience stores so on our latest 2025 HiKr Ground visit, it was nice to see a convenience store set had been added with lots of prop fridges and branded HiKR Ground goods (sadly you couldn’t buy anything for real).

DJ Station – Spin some tracks (hopefully K-Pop) and the new DJ Station – there is a nifty piece of equipment where you can choose tracks and edit various songs together.

There were also hands-on activities on floor 2 on the day we visited where you could take a picture of yourself, print it out and bling the frame with stickers, cut outs and more.

Try this – Seoul Hallyu K-Pop tour >

3F – HiKR Atrium

This floor seems to have been totally transformed between our 2024 and 2025 visits – HiKR Atrium is home to a vertical video wall, Korean artwork and special exhibitions.

We spotted some new installations in 2025 like a HiKR Korean bus stop you can pose in plus some fake shop and cafe frontages you can take a selfie with.

You might like – Things to do in Seoul at night or Seoul with kids

4F – HiKR Now

A bright and vibrant exhibition space, this has lots of Korean wave content – on our 2024 visit, it was a showcase of all the different types of Korean games and playground fun from South Korea’s various regions.

There were also sets like a K-Pop bedroom where you can capture ‘once in a lifetime’ photos (their words) recommended by local photographer Geumsson.

More recently in 2025, there were several pop-up shops including a stall where you can create your own customised perfume / scents plus a Nomad’s Capshop where you can create cool headwear.

Please note exhibitions vary on level 4 so we cannot guarantee what will be on display when you visit – the Squid Game style exhibition mentioned below has since been removed.

Try this – Full day tour In The Soop BTS Ver in PyeongChang Filming Location >

Floor 5 – HiKR Lounge

Head on up to the top floor for the best views of Cheonggyecheon Stream or enjoy sweet treats, sublime smoothies or a caffeine fix at the Knotted Cafe.

This is a nice area to relax in, especially if you worked up a sweat in the K-Pop video sets on level 2!