The representative K-performance tourism festival, "2025 Welcome Daehangno," will take place for about a month from September 26 to November 2, 2025, at Daehangno, the National Museum of Korea, Myeongdong, and other locations.
Celebrating its ninth edition this year, Welcome Daehangno is a festival centered on Korea's captivating performances. It is hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and jointly organized by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Korea Performing Arts Tourism Association.
The offline performance series, "Welcome Theater," can be enjoyed not only in Daehangno and Myeongdong but also in other regions such as Busan. "Welcome Theater" features 47 selected works, including famous non-verbal performances like Painters and Jump, as well as musicals, plays, and traditional theater. To allow more tourists to enjoy the performances, a 10,000 won discount coupon for foreigners is available through the Interpark global page.
At the National Museum of Korea, where the number of foreign visitors has surged due to the popularity of the Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters," the outdoor performance "Welcome Fringe" will be held on September 27 and 28. Welcome Fringe is a free showcase that also offers a variety of hands-on programs and prize events, including performance tickets. Traditional regional performances such as Imsil Pilbong Nongak from Jeonbuk, designated as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; the daytime Dokkebi from Jangneung, Yeongwol, which was officially invited to the 2025 Edinburgh Festival and received international acclaim; and the Gangneung Gwanno Mask Play, handed down through the thousand-year-old Gangneung Danoje Festival, will be featured alongside taekwondo and musicals.
Welcome Fringe will also be held in Myeongdong, a popular destination for foreign tourists, from October 8 to 10, and at Marronnier Park in Daehangno from October 11 to 12.
The "Smart Theater," which allows foreign tourists to comfortably enjoy performances in their native language, will be highlighted throughout October. Smart Theater translates scripts and provides real-time foreign language subtitles via smart glasses (AI smart subtitle glasses), a feature introduced for the first time this year. To improve accessibility for foreign audiences, tickets are offered at up to 80% off the regular price.
On September 26, the "Performance Tourism Market" will be held at Lotte Hotel to promote the commercialization of performance tourism products. Around 170 representatives from the domestic and international travel industry, performance production companies, and regional tourism organizations will participate to conduct business consultations and develop products that combine performances and tourism.
Kwak Jaeyeon, head of the Hallyu Content Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "This year's Welcome Daehangno aims to greatly enhance the convenience of foreign tourists and expand regional performances through new initiatives such as Welcome Fringe and Smart Theater, broadening the base of K-performance tourism. We will continue to actively support performance tourism so that it can become a core content of K-culture."
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