Gangnam-gu '365 Days FUN&PAN Gangnam' Holds In-Person Event After 2 Years

[Seoul District News] Gangnam-gu Hosts Diverse Events Including Dance King Beat on at Major Tourist Spots like COEX from Sept to Nov... Jongno-gu Holds ‘Songsuh·Yulchang’ Singing Like Reading Books on 4th at Namin-sa Madang... Geumcheon-gu Recruits Cast for King Jeongjo’s Royal Procession... Nowon-gu Leads Data Administration for Cultural City Using AI

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will hold ‘365 Days FUN&PAN Gangnam,’ where visitors can enjoy various cultural performances at major tourist attractions in Gangnam-gu such as COEX and Gangnam Station.

Additionally, on the 2nd and 3rd of this month, the ‘Dance King Beat one!’ dance battle featuring famous dancers will be held at the plaza in front of the East Gate of COEX.

Since its inception in 2019, ‘365 Days FUN&PAN Gangnam’ was operated non-face-to-face for the past two years due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, but this year it has returned as a dynamic street performance directly communicating with the audience. Starting with a busking performance held on the 26th of last month at the furniture street in Nonhyeon-dong, five events will be held until November: ▲Dance King Beat one ▲Busking Performances ▲Guerrilla Concerts ▲Random Play Dance ▲Top Singer.

In particular, ‘Dance King Beat one,’ held at the plaza in front of the East Gate of COEX from the 2nd to the 3rd, will showcase thrilling dance competitions. Famous dancers such as YGX’s Jihyo and Riverside Crew’s Nury One, who appeared on JTBC and M.net’s dance survival programs ‘Showdown’ and ‘Street Woman Fighter,’ will participate as judges and guests. The first day’s performance will feature dazzling freestyle dance performances by 15 finalist teams who passed the online screening, and on the second day, audiences can enjoy an on-site preliminary round of 3-on-3 breaking battles and a passionate tournament battle among 8 finalist teams.

Moreover, on October 1st at Garosu-gil, the ‘Guerrilla Concert’ will offer impromptu concerts by popular singers. On October 3rd at Gangnam Square Plaza, the ‘Random Play Dance’ will allow participants to dance together to mixed K-pop songs and join the performance. On October 29th at COEX Millennium Plaza, ‘Top Singer’ will allow spectators to freely participate in live battles. The performance relay of ‘365 Days FUN&PAN Gangnam’ will conclude with the ‘2nd Guerrilla Concert’ on November 18th at Apgujeong Rodeo.

Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, said, “We hope this performance will bring vitality to residents tired from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,” and added, “We will continue to hold diverse and high-quality cultural events to firmly establish Gangnam as the center of K-culture.”

‘Songseo,’ a musical art form where scriptures or prose are memorized and sung, and ‘Yulchang,’ a style of singing poetry in Jeongga style, will resonate on September 4th at the outdoor stage of Naminsa Madang in Jongno (12 Insadong-gil).

Jongno-gu (District Mayor Jeong Mun-heon) will hold the 2022 Jongno Music Story ‘Pungnyu Gakaek’ to continue the lineage of Korean traditional music and introduce the old Pungnyu culture of Jongno.

Designated as Seoul City Intangible Cultural Property No. 41, ‘Songseo·Yulchang’ refers to the method used by Joseon-era scholars to memorize and sing poems and prose written in Chinese characters for study.

Last December, Jongno-gu produced a video titled ‘Songseo Pungnyu’ as part of the Jongno Music Story to preserve and pass down Songseo and Yulchang, which was released on the YouTube channel Jongno TV.

This year, with the lifting of social distancing, the event is planned as an in-person event where attendees can enjoy a variety of traditional cultural arts including Songseo, Yulchang, folk songs, pansori, dance, and percussion all in one place.

The event will be hosted by Dr. Kim Se-jong, a Korean music scholar, and will start spectacularly at 1:50 PM on the 4th with a Mun-gut & Gilnori (ritual and street procession) opening.

Under the theme ‘Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring Again,’ attendees will enjoy a variety of colorful stages and listen to stories about music and dance deeply connected to Jongno.

Jeong Mun-heon, Mayor of Jongno-gu, said, “This event was prepared to introduce the Pungnyu culture of Jongno, where the sounds of scholars reading texts never ceased, and to raise awareness of Songseo and Yulchang, which may be somewhat unfamiliar to the general public,” adding, “We will maintain steady interest and prepare related stages so that Seoul City Intangible Cultural Property No. 41 Songseo·Yulchang becomes a beloved traditional cultural content among the public.”

Geumcheon-gu (District Mayor Yoo Seong-hoon) is recruiting cast members for major roles until September 15th so that Geumcheon residents can directly participate as protagonists in the ‘5th King Jeongjo Royal Procession Reenactment Event.’

The King Jeongjo Royal Procession Reenactment Event is held annually around October since 2016 to reenact the 1795 (the 19th year of King Jeongjo’s reign) royal procession when King Jeongjo visited the tomb of his father, Crown Prince Sado, accompanied by his mother, Lady Hyegyeonggung Hong.

This year marks the 5th event, a large-scale traditional event co-hosted by Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, Suwon City, and Hwaseong City, with Geumcheon-gu as the organizer. It will take place over a 59 km route from Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul on October 8th, passing through Siheung Haenggung, and ending at Yungneung and Geonneung in Hwaseong on October 9th.

Previously, the main roles for each section were recruited publicly by Seoul City (the main agency), but this year, to expand resident participation, Geumcheon-gu will recruit cast members for the Geumcheon section from among its residents.

The roles to be recruited are one person each for the following, aged 19 or older: ▲King Jeongjo (male around 30 years old) ▲Lady Hyegyeonggung Hong (female 50 years or older) ▲Cheongseon Gunju (female in her 20s) ▲Cheongyeon Gunju (female in her 20s). Those wishing to participate can download the application form from the ‘Geumcheon News’ section on the Geumcheon-gu website, fill it out, and submit it by email or fax by 6 PM on September 15th.

After document screening and auditions by Seoul City (the main agency), the final selected cast members will receive ▲a certificate of appreciation ▲souvenirs ▲volunteer hours recognition ▲costume rental ▲makeup ▲acting coaching.

Yoo Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “I am honored that residents will participate as cast members, not just spectators, in this King Jeongjo Royal Procession Reenactment Event held for the first time in three years,” and added, “We will make thorough preparations to make this a traditional Geumcheon-gu festival created together with residents.”

Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has been selected as a demand institution for the government public project worth 10 billion KRW, the ‘Travel Log Data Utilization AI Training Data Construction Project.’

This project is part of the 2022 AI training data construction initiative. It began to accumulate data such as travel routes, consumption patterns, and activity records by recruiting participants, aiming to develop AI technology in the leisure and tourism sectors, and is expected to run for about two years.

Nowon-gu was the only autonomous district in Seoul to be selected for this project, recognized for its efforts in utilizing big data. Following the smart city creation policy, the district has conducted big data analysis over the past three years and integrated it into district administration.

Especially earlier this year, it conducted ‘Urban Leisure Population Commercial Area Analysis’ and ‘Regional Urban Leisure Population Trend Analysis’ based on big data in collaboration with KT AI·Big Data Convergence Project Group and Korea University Digital Innovation Research Center, the first among local governments.

Through the analysis results, the district evaluated past projects and objectively identified residents’ policy demands, actively reflecting them in various projects such as creating healing spaces for residents and revitalizing local commercial areas.

Based on its accumulated know-how, the district plans to participate as both a demand institution and expert organization in this public project, actively utilizing the accumulated data and AI technology to build a cultural city Nowon in the 8th local government term.

Since the purpose of this AI data construction project is to revitalize the tourism sector, the district expects it to contribute to the creation of regional healing towns, leisure policy development, and improvement of residents’ leisure satisfaction, which have been promoted since the 7th local government term.

Meanwhile, the district is conducting various projects using the latest information and communication technology (ICT) and data to create a smart city Nowon that residents can feel.

It is implementing a smart city ‘Integrated Platform Construction Project’ that links various information such as crime prevention, traffic, and environment with an integrated operation center to enhance residents’ safety and convenience. It also shares the latest technology through a ‘Drone Academy’ for staff and helps actively utilize it in various fields such as disaster and safety management, cadastral surveys, and publicity.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “To provide life administration that residents can feel, we plan to collaborate with expert organizations in various fields such as leisure, jobs, housing, transportation, and education,” and added, “We will create a smart cultural city Nowon through data administration using big data and AI.”