Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals

Families picnic during a movie screening at Seoul Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul. (Seoul Facilities Corporation)

Festival goers can finally enjoy the diverse cultural programs offered at Seoul's outdoor festivals without worrying about the heat, after the latest autumn rain cooled nationwide high temperatures that lasted well into the Chuseok holidays, a major mid-autumn harvest festival.

Seoul Children’s Grand Park, a popular theme park located in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, is scheduled to hold outdoor screenings of family movies at its Four Seasons Garden.

“The Sound of Music” (1965) will be shown on Sept. 28, while “The Magic Flute” (2022) is set to entertain young movie lovers on Sept. 29.

Both screenings start at 6 p.m, according to Seoul Facilities Corporation, the company behind the theme park.

Visitors can also enjoy the autumn atmosphere by taking part in a nighttime yoga session or the stargazing program on Oct. 9 and 10, respectively.

Meanwhile, Gilkkot Children’s Library and Gomdalle Culture and Welfare Center will turn themselves into a bookworm’s paradise come the end of September.

Those looking to enjoy books and reading alongside different cultural activities can head over to the library located in the northern tip of Gangseo-gu.

Gilkkot Children’s Library welcomes young bookworms to an outdoor library and seeks to entertain them with magic shows, outdoor activities like ring toss and “biseokchigi,” a land of conquest game.

Gomdalle Culture and Welfare Center, located in southeastern Gangseo-gu, opens an outdoor library where visitors can freely read books, play board games, make bookmarks and mood lights for camping, and enjoy camping food on Sept. 29.

A visitor photographs the ginkgo tree light installations at Jamwon Hangang Park in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, in 2023. (Gangnam-gu)

Tourists planning to visit popular tourist sites in Gangnam-gu, such as Jamwon Hangang Park and Sinsa-dong Garosu-gil -- the upscale street running from Sinsa Station to Hyeondae High School -- might want to take a sneak peek into this year’s Light and Sound Festival.

Starting Wednesday, the 360-meter street of Garosu-gil will become a car-free road with a picnic zone and venues for hands-on activities and outdoor markets on offer, according to the district.

The festival’s opening ceremony will take place at Jamwon Hangang Park at 7 p.m. the same day, featuring fireworks, busking and concerts for free.

Different light installations will illuminate autumn nights at the park every day from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. until Oct. 6.

By Lee Si-jin(sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)