Seocho-gu to Host '2023 Seoripul Festival' on Banpodaero from 15th to 17th Amid Rain Forecast Concerns
“Please, I pray that it does not rain today or tomorrow.”
This was the heartfelt plea of a Seocho-gu official on the day of the largest annual event, the '2023 Seoripul Festival.'
Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) will hold the large-scale ‘2023 Seoripul Festival’ on the 15th and 16th along Banpo-daero.
On the morning of the 15th, Seocho-gu also held a final preparation check meeting for the Seoripul Festival, chaired by the former district mayor. At this meeting, Seocho-gu decided, “The festival will be held as scheduled tomorrow.”
Accordingly, Seocho-gu will start the festival at 1:30 PM on the 16th along Banpo-daero.
Nevertheless, rain is forecasted around 3 to 4 PM that day, causing ongoing concern until the last moment.
A Seocho-gu official said in a phone interview with reporters on the morning of the 16th, “We were worried because it rained the day before yesterday and yesterday, but fortunately, it did not rain this morning.”
The Seoripul Festival is an urban music festival held every September. Since its first event in 2015, it has grown into a representative autumn music festival attracting about 860,000 visitors until 2019. It was unable to be held due to COVID-19 but returns after four years under the 8th local government administration.
This year marks the 6th festival, with the theme ‘Seocho is the Music.’ It signifies filling the entire Seocho downtown, the center of K-Classic, with various musical gifts.
The festival proceeds with keywords of communication, sharing, integration, and dignity, where a stage of harmony transcending religion, gender, and age unfolds. It is a space to briefly escape daily life and enjoy happiness through music and art, as well as a delightful getaway freely roaming the 10-lane car-free Banpo-daero.
The festival venue is the Banpo-daero area (from Seocho Station on Subway Line 2 to Seocho 3-dong Intersection), the core axis of the nation’s only music culture district. It takes place over about a 1 km section of the 10-lane road, covering approximately 28,500 square meters.
Transformed into a large-scale cultural and artistic performance venue, this location features a 3,000-seat ‘Main Stage,’ a 10-meter ‘Round Stage’ near Seocho Station, and three ‘Small Stages,’ where diverse performances will be held. A total of 30 programs with about 800 performers will showcase the essence of autumn music festivals, from classical to jazz, K-Pop, and EDM.
In particular, attendees can experience unique performances with four grand pianos, three harps in collaboration, toy pianos, horns, and other instruments rarely seen, available only in Seocho.
Additionally, the 10-lane road will be transformed into the ‘largest sketchbook on earth,’ filled with colorful drawings. The opening and closing performances will feature spectacular light shows and fireworks, decorating the autumn night sky.
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