Weekend Festivals and Events Simultaneously Held in 12 Seoul Districts
Competition to Revitalize Local Economy and Create Signature Regional Festivals
Various Genres Including Classical, K-Pop, Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, Fashion, and Historical Culture
"When else would you get to do yoga in the middle of a 10-lane road at dawn, dance disco at night, and do things like this?"
Song Seung-eun, the general director of the Seoripul Festival, introduced the Seoripul Festival, the representative festival of Seocho-gu, Seoul, in this way.
The Seoripul Festival is held by blocking vehicle access to a 900-meter section of Banpodaero, a 10-lane road from Seocho Station to Seocho 3-dong Intersection, transforming it into a huge plaza-like space. The festival will take place on the weekend of the 28th and 29th, and Seocho-gu expects more than 150,000 participants over the two days.
This weekend alone, approximately 12 festivals are held in Seoul. This number only includes official festivals hosted by district offices. It is easier to find places without festivals in districts such as Gangnam-gu, Gangseo-gu, Gwangjin-gu, Guro-gu, Nowon-gu, Mapo-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Seocho-gu, Songpa-gu, Yangcheon-gu, and Jongno-gu, covering all directions.
The reason why so many festivals are concentrated in one week is that autumn is a good season for festivals, and many new festivals have been created by basic local governments since COVID-19. Districts are competitively expanding the scale of their festivals.
The Neungdong-ro Fashion Festival and Hip-hop Breaking Festival organized by Gwangjin-gu are both new festivals targeting young people this year. Festivals such as Bangsin Saky Festival in Gangseo-gu, Dancing Nowon in Nowon-gu, Red Road Festival in Mapo-gu, Sinchon Global University Culture Festival in Seodaemun-gu, and Rak (樂) Festival in Yangcheon-gu are all in their second year this year, expanding their scale and enriching their content compared to last year.
Mapo-gu planned the festival as part of a strategy to develop the area around Hongdae into a cultural tourism hub called the 'Red Road.' Seodaemun-gu emphasized the revival of the Sinchon commercial district and strengthening its image as a university and youth city.
The Rak Festival, started by Yangcheon-gu last year, is an interesting festival with the idea of blowing away aircraft noise with rock music. Therefore, the festival is held in Sinwol-dong, an area affected by airport noise. Nowon-gu will continue to hold festivals almost every week until November, including Dancing Nowon this weekend and the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail Autumn Concert next weekend. Jongno-gu blocks a 350-meter, 6-lane road in Daehak-ro four times a year, and this time, a jazz concert will be held there.
In terms of scale and celebrity appearances, the Gangnam Festival is overwhelming. It features K-POP concerts, large fashion shows, and cover dance competitions, attracting thousands of overseas tourists every year, causing nearby hotels to sell out early. This year, 15 teams including Guckkasten, Solar, Apink, Oh My Girl, ITZY, Kim Won-jun, and Koyote will perform at the concerts. The Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival held in Songpa-gu, the capital of Baekje, is a nationwide cultural festival visited by 300,000 people annually.
The main reason local governments are so enthusiastic about festivals is that visitors flock from neighboring areas, significantly boosting sales for local small businesses and revitalizing the regional economy. Residents' demand for expanding public cultural content is growing, and this demand aligns with local government leaders' interests in establishing regional representative brands.
‘The Greatest Sketchbook on Earth’ is the most popular program representing the Seoripul Festival. Participants freely draw pictures with chalk on the 10-lane Banpodaero street, showcasing their creativity. Provided by Seocho-gu.
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