Independence Hall maple tunnel night walk — weekends to 15 Nov

The Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan has opened its maple path at night again this autumn. In a notice on 13 October the hall named the event the 2026 Maple Forest Path Healing Festival and said it would light the path for three hours every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening for five weeks, from 16 October to 15 November. The point of the event is simple: there is no admission charge, and you can walk the maple tunnel that circles the hall's grounds after dark. As of 27 October, when this was written, nine evenings remain, on the three weekends from 30 October.

What is the Maple Forest Path?

It is a walking loop around the outer edge of the Independence Hall grounds. The Korea Tourism Organization's festival listing describes thousands of maple trees forming a tunnel along about 3.2 km. The trees on each side have grown until their branches meet overhead, so by day it is an earth path under red leaves, and during the night opening the inside of that tunnel is filled with light.

What is there to see at night this year?

Light is the centrepiece this year. According to the Independence Hall and the Korea Tourism Organization's festival listing, the path has special lighting marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Kim Gu, the independence leader, and the Gyeoreui Tower, the hall's landmark monument, carries a media façade of projected artwork. The façade runs every 20 minutes during opening hours (18:00–21:00), so walk the path and come out by the tower when the next showing is due. Food trucks and photo spots are set up around the festival area.

Under the lights the leaves look richer when you look straight up than when you look ahead as you walk. Small lights projecting maple-leaf shapes onto the ground are tucked along the way too. The photographs below are from the 2024 night opening, and this year's lighting may be arranged differently.

What else is there besides the walk?

The festival listing names three kinds of side programme. With the times printed on the Independence Hall's official poster, they are:

• Night tour of the park displaying relics of the demolished Japanese Government-General building — Saturdays and Sundays at 19:00 and 20:00, 30 minutes each, in Korean. Online pre-booking and on-the-spot registration are both accepted (Exhibition Office, +82 41-560-0305).
• Maple path footprint challenge — Saturdays and Sundays: check in by QR code at the start, finish the loop and receive a souvenir. The poster gives a limit of 500 people a day.
• Children's activities such as glow-in-the-dark face painting and a 'sseuksseuk zone', and permanent photo spots along the path

On weekends, performances run from the afternoon on the path and in the plaza. The poster schedules a big band, busking by young artists, a balloon show and a DJ lounge across the remaining weekends, alongside a taekwondo demonstration by the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation (31 October and 7 November) and a local producers' market.

How do I get there and back at night?

For an evening visit, sort out the way back first. According to the Independence Hall's directions, city buses only come into the drop-off area in the car park between 8am and 7pm. The path closes at 9pm, so if you are relying on the bus, find the stop outside the grounds and the last bus time in advance, or plan on a taxi.

The KRW 1,000 rate applies to vehicles of disabled drivers, compact cars, hybrid and low-emission cars, and families with a record of military service. The charge in the visitor information is a daily rate; the notice sets no separate rate for the night opening.

Before you go

• Exhibition halls: closed at night. In November they are open 09:30–17:00 with last entry at 16:00, so arrive in the early afternoon if you want to see them too.
• Rules: smoking and pets are banned throughout the Independence Hall grounds.
• Leaf colour: the official notices say nothing about how far the leaves have turned this year. Check recent photos on social media before you set out.
• Changes: programmes may change with the weather, so check the Independence Hall's notices again on the Friday of the week you go.

Coming from Seoul, and what works without Korean

The quickest way from Seoul is a KTX or SRT train to Cheonan-Asan Station, then a taxi of about 25 minutes to the hall. Seoul Subway Line 1 also runs to Cheonan Station, where buses 381–400 and 815 go to the hall in about 40 minutes — fine for getting there before dark, but not for leaving after 9pm, when buses no longer come into the grounds. Book a return train with a margin and have a taxi app or the hall's front desk number ready. Nothing on the evening itself requires Korean: the walk is free and unticketed, and the lighting and media façade are visual. The Korean-only parts are the 30-minute night tour, the weekend stage performances and the festival notice. The hall's website has an English section and a downloadable visitor leaflet in English.