Nowon-gu 'Library Book Festival', Geumcheon-gu 'G-Valley Week' Festival, Gwangjin-gu '2024 Migaro Food Culture Festival', Mapo-gu 'Sangsahwa Festival', Gangbuk 'Baekmaek Festival' and more held to provide a place for resident communication
The record-breaking tropical nights and heatwaves have passed, and the autumn season of clear skies and abundant harvest is approaching.
At this time, various festivals such as the ‘Book Festival,’ ‘G-Valley Week Festival,’ ‘Food Festival,’ ‘Sangsahwa Festival,’ and ‘2024 Gangbuk Baekmaek Festival’ are being held across Seoul’s districts, providing excellent opportunities for communication under the clear autumn sky.
Nowon-gu Holds Library Festival ‘Ora! (OPEN LIBRARY)’ in Celebration of Reading Month
Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will hold ‘Ora! (OPEN LIBRARY)’ in September to celebrate ‘Reading Month.’
The ‘Ora!’ festival will be held at four locations: ▲Nowon Children’s Library Festival on September 1 ▲Sanggye Library on September 21 ▲Nowon Central Library on October 19 ▲Bulam Library on October 26.
At Nowon Children’s Library, events include a meeting with author Kim Yu, who wrote ‘Saja Mart,’ selected as Nowon-gu’s One Book, as well as magic & bubble shows, book cube making experiences, and book sharing. At Sanggye Library, popular books curated through book curation in the front yard will be exhibited, and ‘Reading Picture Books with Reading 人 (Reading In) Activists’ will be held. Additionally, small-scale music performances blending piano and violin melodies, a ‘Sand Art’ show introducing fairy tales using sand, face painting, and photo booths will be operated to add interest. At Central Library, the venue will be expanded to Onsu Neighborhood Park, creating themed zones such as ▲Book Rest Zone ▲Performance Zone ▲Experience Zone. Each zone will offer programs like the ‘Nowon Human Library,’ which loans ‘human books’ to share their experiences and talents, performances by Nowon youth artists ‘Haegum Groove,’ and pop-up stores hosted by Nowon Craft Beer Cooperative and CGV. At Bulam Library, the festival themed ‘Likrary (like myself, like earth, like library)’ will be presented, aiming to foster love for oneself and the earth through the library. Various experience programs combining book curation, original artwork exhibitions, book art, meetings with authors, and local reading group ‘Chaekmomo’ activities are prepared for participants of all ages, from infants to adults.
Geumcheon-gu Hosts ‘G-Valley Week’ Festival
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) will hold the ‘G-Valley Week’ festival, a week of industrial and cultural events, from September 2 to 6.
During ‘G-Valley Week,’ the district has prepared various industrial events linked with external organizations and cultural events to promote community harmony in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the industrial complex.
Industrial events include an export consultation meeting with 1:1 matching between domestic companies and overseas buyers, held jointly with Guro-gu, the Industrial Complex Corporation, and the Seoul Business Agency to support companies’ overseas market expansion. A seminar on overseas market expansion strategies will also be held with the Seoul Business Agency, inviting domestic companies and overseas buyers. Cultural events are diversely composed to be enjoyed by entrepreneurs, workers, and residents, including ▲Special Exhibition of Geumcheon Suni’s House ▲Smart Marathon ▲Geumcheon Fashion Film Festival.
The ‘Special Exhibition of Geumcheon Suni’s House’ is a special exhibition showcasing items and photos from the 1960s to 1980s of Guro Industrial Complex, the predecessor of G-Valley, sharing memories of the complex. It will be held from September 2 to 5 at Gasan Hyundai Outlet.
The ‘Geumcheon Fashion Film Festival’ is the first and only film festival in Korea, held since 2021 with the theme of ‘fashion’ to produce and distribute creative fashion-related video content based on the district’s clothing industry. It will take place from September 6 to 9.
Other events include ‘G-Valley Worker Cultural Events,’ ‘Smart Work and IT Technology Seminar Smart Workthon,’ and ‘Geumcheon Live.’ Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon said, “We have prepared many diverse events during G-Valley Week for entrepreneurs, workers, and residents to all participate.”
Gwangjin-gu to Host ‘2024 Migaro Food Culture Festival’
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) will hold the ‘2024 Migaro Food Culture Festival’ on September 6 at the food alley in Guui-dong, offering a variety of delicious foods. This festival features signature dishes from 20 restaurants including Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and fusion cuisines. Before the opening, a spectacular stage show will begin at 4 p.m., featuring b-boy performances, juggling, soap bubbles, and cocktail shows that captivate the audience. After the opening ceremony, the main stage will host balloon art and magic shows. Popera, harmonica performances, and invited singer concerts will also entertain the eyes and ears. A side event, ‘Sandwich Making,’ will be held, where participants can prepare healthy low-sugar dishes using chicken breast and carrot salad. On the day of the event, 36 interested residents will be recruited on a first-come, first-served basis. Mayor Kim Kyung-ho said, “In September, when the romance of autumn approaches, I hope everyone enjoys the Migaro Festival filled with delicious food and attractions.”
Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, attended the Lycoris Festival held last year and is viewing the Lycoris flowers together with the residents.
Mapo-gu Holds the 2nd ‘Sangsahwa Festival’
Mapo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Park Kang-soo) will hold the 2nd ‘Mapo-gu Sangsahwa Festival’ on September 7 at Nanji Theme Tourism Forest Trail under the theme ‘A Perfect Day to Love.’
Nanji Island (Nanjido), once known as a garbage mountain and degraded into a wasteland due to pollution and odor, now takes on a new appearance through the ‘flower of love,’ Sangsahwa (Lycoris radiata).
In 2023, Mapo-gu planted 370,000 flowers including Sangsahwa and red spider lilies along the Metasequoia forest trail in Haneul Park and held the first-ever ‘Sangsahwa Festival’ in Seoul, bringing new hope to Nanjido.
This year, the Metasequoia forest trail will again be dyed red with Sangsahwa flowers to welcome visitors. The festival runs from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., opening with an orchestra performance against the backdrop of red Sangsahwa and green forest trails. Following this, a congratulatory video wishing for the festival’s success will be screened with the participation of about 500 residents, and the opening performance titled ‘Birth of Sangsahwa’ will be held.
The second part of the event features performances by ‘God of Janggu’ Park Seo-jin, ‘Smile Angel’ Na Sang-do from Mister Trot 2, and Namgung Ok-bun, adding to the autumn atmosphere and exciting visitors. Besides performances, various attractions and activities will be available.
There will be a flea market, experience zones, and unique photo zones, offering enjoyable activities for all ages and enhancing the festival’s fun. Notably, this festival provides a rare opportunity in Seoul to directly admire Sangsahwa flowers and walk along the flower path.
Mapo-gu has designated Sangsahwa as the representative flower of Nanji Theme Tourism Forest Trail and plans to hold the Sangsahwa Festival every early autumn, establishing it as a signature festival of the district. Mayor Park Kang-soo said, “I hope this Sangsahwa Festival brings warm memories and joy to residents. We will continue to create a vibrant and happy city Mapo through various cultural events that everyone can enjoy together.”
Gangbuk-gu to Host ‘2024 Gangbuk Baekmaek Festival’ Featuring 100 Market Foods and Craft Beer
Gangbuk-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) will hold the ‘2024 Gangbuk Baekmaek Festival’ on September 6 and 7 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Suyu-dong Baeknyeon Market and the surrounding Uicheon area to promote traditional market foods and local attractions.
The inaugural ‘Gangbuk Baekmaek Festival’ attracted over 43,000 visitors over two days and achieved sales of approximately 280 million KRW, marking great success.
The ‘2024 Gangbuk Baekmaek Festival,’ subtitled ‘Baekmaek Village, Searching for Lost Taste,’ plans to create an atmosphere where visitors feel as if they have stumbled upon a foreign rural village filled with delicious beer and food during their travels.
The entrance of Baeknyeon Market, the festival’s starting point, will be themed as the ‘bus stop,’ the arrival and departure point of Baekmaek Village, with a bus-shaped stage hosting EDM performances by club DJs every evening. From the market entrance to the end of the arcade, the ‘Main Square’ will be set up where visitors can enjoy craft beer breweries and various market snacks.
This year, 12 renowned domestic and international breweries will participate, and a comprehensive information center will offer personalized food and beer recommendations.
Beyond the Main Square street, the ‘Main Street’ leading to Uicheon will feature actors dressed as characters such as newspaper boys and village sheriffs, providing unique entertainment to visitors.
The Uicheon riverside space will be arranged as a ‘Music Pub’ with a large stage for invited singers and a spacious artificial turf seating area for about 300 people, as well as a ‘Village Inn’ busking stage. Notably, at the Uicheon event venues like ‘Music Pub’ and ‘Village Inn,’ various popular foods from local traditional markets including Suyu Traditional Market, Suyu Traditional Market, Jangmiwon Alley Market, Uigol Alley Market, Solsaem Market, and Eojin Alley Market will be sold alongside diverse craft beers, raising expectations.
Building on last year’s success, the number of participating market stores has been significantly increased from 44 to 61, and in collaboration with professional chefs, about 183 types of affordable (under 10,000 KRW) and delicious foods will be offered.
This year’s festival also strengthens performances and experience programs. On the Uicheon riverside ‘Music Pub’ stage, performances by Lim Jeong-hee on the 6th and Min Kyung-hoon on the 7th can be enjoyed. Mayor Lee Soon-hee said, “As the Gangbuk Baekmaek Festival is held for the second time this year following last year, we are preparing a festival that everyone from young generations to families can enjoy with more diverse foods, varied themed spaces, and performances.”
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