Nowon-gu Christmas Festival at Hwarangdae Railroad Park on the 24th... Seocho-gu Year-end Concert 'Christmas in Seocho' at 7 PM on the 22nd... Yeongdeungpo-gu Family Christmas and Year-end Concert at Yeongdeungpo Art Hall at 7 PM on the 22nd... Gangbuk-gu 2023 Gangbuk Christmas Market 'Naega Geurin Santa' at Gangbuk-gu Office Area from the 23rd to 25th
"Santa has arrived~~~"
As Christmas approaches, each autonomous district in Seoul is holding Christmas festivals to celebrate the holiday.
Districts such as Nowon-gu, Seocho-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Gangbuk-gu are hosting village festivals that remind residents of the meaning of Christmas and share the joy of the season.
Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) will hold its first Christmas festival on the 24th at Hwarangdae Railroad Park.
To celebrate Christmas, the district planned the ‘2023 Nowon Christmas Festival’ (White&Light Christmas in Nowon) so that families can enjoy the holiday close to home without having to travel far. The area around Hwarangdae Railroad Park, a representative healing spot in the district, will be transformed into a cozy Santa Village.
This festival, held for the first time this year, will take place from 12 PM to 6 PM on the 24th. Various programs such as carol performances, a Christmas market, and Santa mime events are prepared.
At the ‘Santa Banquet Hall (main stage)’ set up in front of the train cafe, carol performances including choir and popera will be held from 2 PM to 6 PM. At 2 PM, the emerging popera group ‘Atti Classic’ will perform songs such as ‘Song of Toast’, ‘Blessings at Christmas’, and ‘Feliz Navidad’. At 3 PM, the children’s choir ‘Dream Tree’ will perform, followed by the Nowon-gu music teachers’ choir ‘Paideia’ at 4 PM. At 5 PM, the four-member popera group ‘Il Volare’ will sing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’, ‘White Christmas’, and ‘Oh, Happy Day’, followed by a performance by the ‘Nowon Soloist Ensemble’. Especially during the performances by these two groups, the tree lighting ceremony will take place starting at 5:20 PM, transforming the landmark ‘Avatar Tree’ of Hwarangdae Railroad Park into a magnificent large Christmas tree. The ‘Media Train’ will broadcast Christmas-related videos to brighten the atmosphere of the event.
On the train platform side of the railroad tracks, the ‘Santa Market’ and ‘Rudolph Rest Area’ will be operated. At the Santa Market, visitors can purchase Christmas decorations, knitted goods, handmade dolls, air fresheners, and other Christmas gifts. The Rudolph Rest Area offers various Christmas-themed desserts such as soup, cookies, handmade candies, and macarons. In front of the park’s main gate near the entrance road to the Korea Military Academy, the ‘Rudolph Restaurant’ will sell tteokbokki, fish cakes, mini bungeoppang, takoyaki, and more.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Nowon-gu has prepared a Christmas gift for everyone who worked hard this year,” adding, “We hope families spend healing time together at Hwarangdae Railroad Park, transformed into Santa Village.”
Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) will hold a year-end concert titled ‘Christmas in Seocho’ at Seocho Culture and Arts Center at 7 PM on the 22nd.
The festival theme is ‘A Year-End Gift from Seocho.’ The approximately 90-minute performance will feature a variety of genres including a musical gala show, carol medley, b-boying, and a mini concert by Son Tae-jin, adding richness to the event.
Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) will hold a ‘Christmas Concert’ at Yeongdeungpo Art Hall at 7 PM on the 22nd, where families can enjoy the Christmas and year-end atmosphere together.
This performance breaks away from traditional formats, featuring not only classical and carol melodies but also famous opera arias, movie theme songs, and art songs, making it even more abundant.
Especially, the ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Volunteer Orchestra,’ an orchestra of office workers donating their talents, will perform to beautifully embellish the year-end, creating a special occasion to close the year differently.
The opening will start with the soundtrack (OST) from the movie ‘The Sound of Music,’ offering the audience a dreamy atmosphere as if they were inside a film. This will be followed by a carol medley that fully evokes the Christmas spirit. Familiar classical pieces and melodies will also be performed. Attendees can enjoy Haydn’s ‘Trumpet Concerto 3rd Movement,’ which appeared as a morning call to wake participants in Netflix’s ‘Squid Game,’ Tchaikovsky’s fairy-tale-filled ‘Nutcracker Suite,’ and the theme song from ‘Home Alone,’ evoking nostalgia.
In the latter half, the concert deepens with traditional art songs and opera arias. Songs easy to sing along such as ‘Counting the Stars at Night’ by Yun Dong-ju and ‘Nostalgia’ by Jeong Ji-yong, as well as winter-evoking pieces like ‘The Princess is Untroubled’ from the famous opera ‘Turandot,’ will be performed with the orchestra’s grand accompaniment.
The concert will conclude with ‘Beautiful Country,’ a song celebrating Korea’s beautiful four seasons and nature.
All seats are free, and reservations can be made through the district’s integrated online reservation system.
Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “Despite many difficulties this year, we have prepared a Christmas gift-like performance to comfort and give hope to our residents who have worked hard,” adding, “We hope everyone has a warm and happy year-end through this performance, and next year, we will prepare various cultural performances befitting Yeongdeungpo as a cultural city for our residents.”
Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) will hold the 2023 Gangbuk Christmas Market ‘The Santa I Drew’ around Gangbuk-gu Office from the 23rd to the 25th.
‘The Santa I Drew,’ introduced for the first time this year, is a Christmas event involving the district, local businesses, and artists. It was organized to revitalize the local economy and commercial districts by utilizing Christmas, which has become a popular culture beyond its religious meaning.
During the three days of the event (2 PM to 9 PM on the 23rd, 1 PM to 9 PM on the 24th and 25th), various programs such as flea markets featuring small business products and local artisans’ handmade crafts, wine and food booths, busking performances by local artists, and events linked to local commercial districts will be held around the district office area.
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