Spring festivals to pop up around Seoul as weather warms

The city of Seoul is blossoming with festivals just in time for spring.

Map of Seoul Spring Festa [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The city of Seoul is blossoming with festivals just in time for spring.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is gearing up to kick off its large-scale citywide Seoul Spring Festa, set to begin May 30 and run for seven days. Under the theme, “Make Wonders,” the festival will feature three major headline events and three special-themed areas throughout the city.

The festival’s opening ceremony, called the “Wonder Show,” will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul. Fifteen K-pop groups — including NCT Wish and The Boyz — will perform. Rising global rookie group Hearts2Hearts has been named as the Wonder Show’s honorary ambassador.

A total of 4,200 free tickets to the Wonder Show have been available for reservation starting Thursday via the official festival website.

From May 1 to 3, the festival will present its first-ever digital art show, titled “Signature Show,” at the Seoul Metropolitan Library. The show will run three times each night, blending lasers and oversized light balloons with various special effects to create an immersive visual experience.

On May 4, the “Road Show: Fun Night Walk 5K” will invite participants to walk through the cityscape from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Accompanied by music, walkers will journey from Gwanghwamun Square to the Blue House, or Cheongwadae. In collaboration with the Cheong Wa Dae Foundation, the city will specially open the Grand Garden and Nokjiwon garden within the presidential compound for the event.

The Jungnang Seoul Rose Festival held in 2024 [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The Seongbuk Global Food Festival Nurimasil held in May 2024 [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Aside from the festival’s main events are three special-themed areas to visit: Seoul Plaza, Gwanghwamun Square and the stonewall path surrounding Deoksu Palace.

Seoul Plaza will be turned into a “Wonder Park” that has arranged gardens, food parties and dance events. Gwanghwamun Square will transform into “Wonder Plaza,” offering hands-on Korean cultural experiences and a marketplace for Korean souvenirs for tourists. Thirty-two companies and institutions will offer insights into fashion, beauty and lifestyle trends that represent Seoul.

The stone wall path surrounding Deoksu Palace will feature spring floral installations, collectively called “Wonderful Road.” On May 2, the area will host a modern hanbok (traditional Korean dress) runway show, along with a live orchestra performance.

“Seoul Spring Festa is a vibrant celebration that brings together K-pop, beauty, fashion and more,” said Koo Jong-won, director of Seoul’s Tourism and Sports Bureau. “We’ve designed a diverse program with attractions from day to night.”

The Seoul government unveiled a map that highlights spring festivals set to be held within Seoul. The government regularly releases a different version for each season.

According to the map, 11 different cultural festivals are scheduled to take place from late April to early May. A chamber music festival is taking place from April 22 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, while the Seoul Drum Festival will open May 10 on Nodeul Island.

The large-scale Seoul Circus Festival will begin May 3, also on Nodeul Island. On May 18, the 17th Seongbuk Global Food Festival Nurimasil will be held in Seongbuk-dong, central Seoul.

“We will continue discovering and supporting diverse cultural and artistic festivals to make Seoul a lively city all year round,” said Ma Chae-sook, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Cultural Industry Department.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY MOON HEE-CHUL [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]