Street performances, fireworks and music offer rich cultural experiences


Seoul has transformed into a giant stage for dance performances, music and fireworks as the annual Hi Seoul Festival and other festivals begin this week.

A total of 62 local and international performance groups are taking over the streets and neighborhoods with various genres of performances from parades, street theater, circus and stunt flying, to dance and a lot more.

About 200 dance performances will be seen throughout the city from major venues like Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall and small neighborhoods to live up to the city government’s aim to make its annual festival a “street art festival.”

The festival started on Monday with fun and dynamic opening celebrations.

Local and foreign street theater troupes took over Taepyeongro and delivered their shows that ranged from a traditional Korean percussion band performance to small scale fireworks performance by Spanish troupe Xarxa.

The seven-day festival, which ends on Sunday, also encourages active participation of citizens, drawing them to participate in large dance performances and parades.

Performance groups conduct co-projects with local civic groups. French performance group Generik Vapeur and a local community group in Mapo will present a group performance at the closing parade on Sunday at Taepyeongro from Cheonggye Stream to Seoul Plaza. Painted in blue, they will march while rolling blue painted drums to dynamic music. 

Snuff Puppets from Australia will make a four-meter long puppet with citizens and march together in the closing parade as well.

Citizens can take part in a group dance lesson on Saturday at City Hall Plaza and learn swing dance and the recent hit “horse riding” dance by K-pop sensation Psy.

Those who wish to attend the event can apply on the festival website at www.hiseoulfest.org.

The city government distributes daily schedules and festival news to citizens in the morning at Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggye stream and Deoksu Palace.

Along with the main Hi Seoul Festival, several small festivals held by district offices will enrich each neighborhood with cultural events. The city government is holding street performances in various neighborhoods so that citizens who can’t travel to the city center can still experience the festive mood near home. A list of the neighborhoods taking part can also be found on the Hi Seoul Festival website.

The annual fireworks display will add a festive mood on Saturday, showcasing different themed fireworks by international award-winning teams from Italy, China, the U.S. and Korea.

The four teams will each present a 20-minute display that will light up the sky above the Han River from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

As people are expected to begin crowding up in the Han River parks by afternoon, it is recommended to arrive early. The location for fireworks display is between Wonhyo Bridge and Hangang Bridge.

In its 10th year, the annual fireworks festival has become the most celebrated event for Seoul citizens attracting approximately 1 million people. This year, cruise boats will be operating on the Han River for those who want to get a closer look. For more information about the firework festival, visit www.bulnori.com.

During the festival period, two major palaces in the city ― Gyeongbokgung and Deoksugung ― will stay open late so that more visitors can feel the tranquil autumn nights in the palaces.

Gyeongbokgung will stay open till 10 p.m. and the ticket booth closes one hour before the closing hour.

Deoksugung will stay open till 9 p.m. and visitors to the palace can have a rare chance to step into the floors and rooms of buildings as an art exhibition is displayed inside buildings of Deoksugung till Dec. 2.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)