Lotte Concert Hall
A sound-isolated vineyard-style concert room and a 4,958-pipe organ sit above Lotte World Mall in Jamsil
Classical orchestral concerts, chamber music, organ recitals and specialist performances
A 2,036-seat vineyard auditorium, foyer on the eighth floor and upper-level seating inside Lotte World Mall
The isolated auditorium and organ are notable technical accomplishments, while the unusual seating rewards careful choice when booking
A quiet room inside a busy mall
Lotte Concert Hall sits inside one of Seoul's busiest malls, yet its auditorium is acoustically separated from the building around it. Engineers designed a box within a box, isolating walls, floor and ceiling to shield orchestral music from retail noise
Acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota and Nagata Acoustics worked on the 2,036-seat hall. The team built a scale model one-tenth the actual size to test how sound would travel. The audience surrounds the stage on stepped terraces in a vineyard layout. The stepped terraces bring some listeners unusually close to the musicians
Nearly five thousand pipes
At one end of the auditorium stands a Rieger organ with 4,958 pipes and 68 stops. The pipes range from slender metal tubes to structures several metres high. Each stop selects a family of pipes; the performer can move from a delicate solo line to the full force of the instrument. On dedicated organ-recital nights, the instrument is the main event
The hall's opening programme began in August 2016. At its public inauguration on 19 August, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra played under Chung Myung-whun. The programme included a newly commissioned work by Chin Un-suk and Saint-Saëns's Organ Symphony, a fitting test of the room's sound isolation and its new Rieger organ
The approach is unusual. Escalators, retail floors and busy corridors give way to wood-lined terraces and an auditorium where soft passages can be heard without competing with the sounds outside
Choosing a seat and finding the hall
The seating plan changes a concert's perspective. Front-centre seats offer a clear view across the ensemble; a terrace behind the orchestra brings the conductor's gestures into direct view. The position of each instrumental section can also affect the balance a listener hears
Lotte's fully surrounding vineyard terraces differ from the hybrid vineyard-and-shoebox acoustic concept at Art Center Incheon, which opened in Songdo in 2018. The concert hall's main foyer is on the eighth floor of Lotte World Mall; auditorium seating occupies levels nine and ten. Twenty-two wheelchair-accessible seats are provided. A ticket identifies the performance, its seating area and its specific admission time
Before you go
Lotte Concert Hall is in Lotte World Mall at Jamsil, Seoul. Show dates, starting times and prices depend on the performance; it has no regular museum-style admission. The main foyer is on level eight, and access to the auditorium continues to upper levels
Jamsil Station is served by Seoul Subway Lines 2 and 8, with indoor connections toward Lotte World Mall. The concert hall's own entrance requires some additional navigation after entering the shopping complex. Accessible seating is arranged through the event's official ticket system
- Hours
- The hall opens for scheduled performances and other booked events; admission time follows the event ticket
- Admission
- Ticket prices and age restrictions depend on the concert or programme; there is no general museum admission
- Access
- Main foyer on floor 8 of Lotte World Mall; auditorium levels 9–10 and 22 wheelchair-accessible seats. Use the official booking system for accessible seating
- Transit
- Seoul Subway Jamsil Station, Lines 2 and 8, connects toward Lotte World Mall; navigate to the hall's level-eight foyer from the mall