Goryeo Hero General Gang Gam-chan Festival '2024 Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival' Opens

Gwanak-gu Historical and Cultural Festival Featuring Goryeo Hero Gang Gamchan's 'Janchi' Theme
Resident-Led and Participatory Programs Operated Permanently... Planned with Gang Gamchan's Life and Goryeo History Motifs
▲Gang Gamchan Song Festival ▲Nakseong Yeonhui ▲Gang Gamchan Talk Show ▲eSports Tournament and More Exciting Main Performances

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) will grandly open the ‘2024 Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival,’ Seoul’s only ‘Preliminary Cultural Tourism Festival,’ at Nakseongdae Park for three days starting October 11.

The Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival is Gwanak-gu’s representative historical and cultural festival. Last year, under the concept of ‘Invitation of Gang Gam-chan,’ visitors invited to the festival will be able to fully enjoy a lively celebration themed ‘Gang Gam-chan Feast’ at the 2024 Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival.

The district planned this festival with a focus on the ‘5 Key Priorities’: ▲Resident-led festival ▲Barrier-free festival ▲Community co-prosperity festival ▲Eco-friendly festival ▲Safe festival, striving to take a step forward as a leading cultural tourism festival in Seoul.

On the first day, the 11th, the festival will open with the ‘General Gang Gam-chan Memorial Ceremony.’ Now in its 35th year, this memorial ceremony is held annually at Anguksa Temple in Nakseongdae Park to honor General Gang Gam-chan’s patriotic spirit and achievements and to inspire local pride among residents.

From 7 p.m., the festival’s eve event ‘Be The Star’ will be held on the main stage at the Nakseongdae Park Grand Plaza, discovering new young singer-songwriters. Visitors can enjoy high-quality performances by aspiring star musicians who advanced through preliminaries, along with a special performance by the invited artist ‘Na Sang-hyun Band.’

On the 12th and 13th, alongside resident-participation programs operating continuously, the full-scale Gang Gam-chan feast will unfold.

‘Gwanak Parade 21’ is a resident-led program organized in a parade format, where residents directly plan experience booths introducing the unique commercial districts and cultures of Gwanak-gu’s 21 neighborhoods.

‘Goryeo Market,’ inspired by the Goryeo-era market ‘Bangsi,’ brings together Gwanak’s representative eateries in one place, satisfying the taste buds of festival visitors. ▲Traditional markets ▲Sarosu-gil ▲Alleyway merchants present unique food spaces and special menus aligned with the festival’s ‘feast’ concept.

In particular, the district made efforts to create an eco-friendly festival by implementing ‘Plastic Free Seoul,’ using reusable containers at all shops within the Goryeo Market.

At the ‘Starry Playground’ set up in the Central Plaza, various tactics and strategies from KBS’s ‘Goryeo-Khitan War’ such as ▲Rolling ▲Twisting ▲Pewung Pewung ▲Splash Splash are expressed through physical activity games, expected to captivate the hearts of children and parents visiting the festival.

At 2 p.m. on the 12th, the most popular ‘Gang Gam-chan Song Festival’ among residents will begin on the main stage at the Grand Plaza. Participants who passed the fierce preliminaries will compete in the finals with skills comparable to professionals. The song festival will be hosted by KBS announcer Jo Chung-hyun and will feature a special performance by the trot queen Jang Yoon-jung, creating an even richer stage.

From 7 p.m., the themed performance ‘Nakseong Yeonhui’ will take place, bringing the festival to a climax. Through ▲Musical ▲Aerial performance ▲LED performance ▲Fireworks, it will recreate the lively feast of the Goryeo people celebrating peace after the victory at the Battle of Gwiju.

Especially, the fireworks display, conducted on the largest scale ever, can be seen not only in Gwanak-gu but also from the surrounding areas’ skies, raising expectations among residents and visitors.

On the festival’s final day, the 13th, the ‘Gang Gam-chan Talk Show and Quiz Show’ will be held to learn about the Goryeo era and General Gang Gam-chan. Korean history lecturer Choi Tae-sung and Professor Seo Kyung-duk will participate as talk show panelists to resolve questions about Goryeo history, and participants can compete in the quiz show to win prizes.

At 7 p.m., the ‘Gang Gam-chan StarCraft Tournament hosted by the Expedition Queen’ will be held with actress Lee Si-a, who starred as the Expedition Queen in KBS’s ‘Goryeo-Khitan War’ and is active as a StarCraft YouTuber. Participants who passed the preliminaries will decide the winner in a single match in the finals, and event matches will be held with actress Lee Si-a and professional commentators.

Additionally, through ‘Goryeo Nanjang,’ the district offers free high-quality street art performances representing Korea, including ▲Mime shows ▲Soap bubble shows ▲Solo circus.

Moreover, small enjoyable activities before and after the main performances such as ▲Cashwalk Stamp Challenge ▲Wish Tunnel ▲Gwanakjeong Archery Experience ▲Gang Gam-chan Permanent Exhibition are also not to be missed.

Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “We actively secured external funding to enrich the Gang Gam-chan Festival and create a more abundant Gang Gam-chan feast,” adding, “We will continue to discover local artists and contribute to revitalizing commercial districts through the Gang Gam-chan Festival, establishing it as a representative festival of Seoul.”