[One Day Walk, One Thousand Characters a Day] Let's Go for a Night Stroll to Namsan Gugakdang, Incheon Open Port, and Jeju Sanjicheon

Jung-gu, Incheon is hosting the ‘Incheon Open Port Cultural Heritage Night Tour,’ allowing visitors to experience the nights of Incheon Open Port from 140 years ago. The night tour festival will be held twice over four days: August 26-27 and October 21-22, from 6 PM to 10 PM, throughout the Incheon Open Port cultural district. The Incheon Open Port Night Tour is themed around the "8 Nights" (8야) ? Night View (夜景), Night Road (夜路), Night Storytelling (夜說), Night History (夜史), Night Painting (夜畵), Night Market (夜市), Night Food (夜食), and Night Stay (夜宿) ? offering citizens a chance to experience Jung-gu’s modern cultural heritage and cultural facilities at night. The district also offers a cultural heritage and facility visit stamp tour through Incheon’s official tourism app, ‘Incheon e-ji.’ This tour features storytelling walking courses by theme and can be reserved in advance via the Naver reservation system. Additionally, the district plans to hold engaging experiential events, an art flea market showcasing and selling products from local workshops, world food experiences, street performances, and a project on the transformation history of the open port area.

Using the 'Incheon e-Ji' application around the Incheon Open Port area [Asia Economy DB]

Jung-gu, Incheon is home to nine city-designated tangible cultural properties, including Seonrindong Gonghwachun, Incheon Open Port Museum, Jemulpo Club, and Hongyemun, as well as two city-registered cultural properties such as Incheon Citizen’s Love House and Gumi Tsui Trading Company. There are also six cultural facilities, including the Cheong-Japanese concession boundary stairs (a city monument), the Korea-China Cultural Center, Incheon Chinese Historical Museum, Noodle Platform, Jayu Park Platanus, and the Daebul Hotel Exhibition Hall. Last year’s night tour event attracted over 100,000 participants, with a satisfaction rate of 77.5%. Local consumer spending during the event was estimated at over 1.4 billion KRW.

Colorful Sanji Festival event sculpture held in 2022 [Photo by Jeju Tourism Organization]

In Jeju, the Night Stroll event takes place every weekend evening until August 13, centered around Tamna Culture Square where Sanjicheon Stream flows. The ‘2023 Colorful Sanji Festival,’ organized by Jeju Province and Jeju Tourism Organization, features the ‘Sanji Market’ every weekend, selling secondhand clothes, food, and crafts, along with nighttime busking performances. On August 5, a humanities concert will be held, and on August 12, the Sanji Night Concert will take place at Buksugu Square, featuring performances by Jang Kiha, Kang San Ae, and Car, the Garden. On August 6 and 13, the ‘Sanji Night Run’ (5 PM to 9 PM), a running and walking event rooted in the local culture of the old downtown area and popular among young people, will be held. The Sanji Night Run is a non-competitive event with 5 km and 6.5 km courses, where participants walk and run through areas including Sanjicheon, Tapdong, Yongduam, and the pier, completing various missions and entering a raffle to win prizes such as running shoes. The event plans to recruit around 200 participants in collaboration with local running communities in the province.

Citizens participating in the night market held at Namsangol Hanok Village. Reference photo to aid understanding of the article. [Asia Economy DB]

At Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, a new concept theater tour performance where the audience participates to complete the story, titled Namsangol Night Stroll , will be held five times from August 17 to 19. Performances start at 8 PM on Thursday, and at 5 PM and 8 PM on Friday and Saturday, lasting approximately 80 minutes. Audiences begin in the outdoor yard of Seoul Namsan Gugakdang with Namsan Tower as the backdrop, then move through the performance hall, dressing room, rehearsal room, and the Gugakdang’s terraced garden ‘Chimsangwon,’ exploring hidden spaces within the Gugakdang. This performance is part of the youth gugak project sponsored by Crown Haitai Confectionery. The participation fee is 10,000 KRW.