A Festival of Resident-Crafted Art... Hanam City's "2026 Resident Autonomy Contest" a Huge Success

Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Hyunjae) held the "2026 Hanam City Resident Autonomy Program Contest" on March 18 at the Geomdan Hall, Grand Theater of the Hanam Culture and Arts Center.

Hanam City (Mayor Lee Hyun-jae) held the "2026 Hanam City Resident Autonomy Program Contest" on the 18th at the Geomdan Hall in the Grand Theater of Hanam Culture and Arts Center. Provided by Hanam City

This contest was organized as a festival of everyday culture, providing an opportunity for residents to showcase the skills they have honed at each neighborhood resident autonomy center and to unite as a community. The event was attended by approximately 700 people, including Mayor Lee Hyunjae, Nam Changsoo, Chair of the Resident Autonomy Council, as well as delegations and supporters from the 13 neighborhoods, adding to the enthusiastic atmosphere.

Even before the performances began, the audience was awash in a sea of colorful cheering tools. Residents energetically waved light sticks and wore sparkling LED headbands, waiting for the performances with anticipation on their faces. The moment the delegation representing their neighborhood took the stage under the spotlight, the venue erupted into thunderous cheers and applause. Chants of "Our neighborhood is the best!" and synchronized cheering routines added another layer of excitement, making the cheering itself a spectacle rivaling the contest and raising the energy in the hall to its peak.

To enhance the professionalism of the contest and deliver a higher-quality stage, this year's event adopted an integrated competition format based on Gyeonggi Province standards. As a result, the delegations representing each neighborhood prepared more polished performances than ever, leading to intense and beautiful competitions on stage.

On stage, the elegant melodies of traditional Korean dance from Deokpung 2-dong filled the space, while the warm harmonica sounds from Gambuk-dong resonated throughout the hall. The acoustic guitar performances from Gamil-dong, Wirye-dong, Misa 3-dong, and Deokpung 1-dong stirred the emotions of the audience.

The powerful line dance routines from Cheonhyeon-dong, Deokpung 3-dong, and Sinjang 1-dong filled the stage, while the silver dance from Sinjang 2-dong, diet dance from Misa 2-dong, and dance aerobics from Choi-dong had the audience moving their shoulders in rhythm.

Especially remarkable was the "Younghwa Dance Company" team from Misa 1-dong, which drew gasps from the audience with their graceful and elegant fan dance set to the song "Beautiful Country." Each time the fans unfolded, the refined lines and restrained movements maximized the beauty of Korea, adorning the stage splendidly and making the audience feel as if they were gazing at a painting.

With the overall level of the contest raised, the "Jaemi Nanta" team from Wirye-dong, the 2025 grand prize winner, closed the event with a powerful drum performance that resonated with the audience and brought the festival to a rousing finale. The passionate cheers and enthusiastic reactions that continued throughout the performances were delivered live to online viewers via Hanam City's official YouTube channel.

As a result of the contest, the grand prize went to Misa 1-dong (Younghwa Dance Company team), the excellence prize to Misa 2-dong (Y.M CREW team), and the encouragement prizes to Sinjang 2-dong (Silver Youth team) and Misa 3-dong (Misaeng Guitar team), respectively.

The Misa 1-dong Younghwa Dance Company team, which won the grand prize at this contest, will represent Hanam City in the "Gyeonggi-do Resident Autonomy Program Contest" to be held in July.

Nam Changsoo, Chair of the Hanam City Resident Autonomy Council, commented, "This contest is a meaningful occasion to share the programs of each neighborhood's resident autonomy center and to foster exchange and harmony among residents. I hope that the culture of resident autonomy, centered on the residents themselves, will become even more active in the future."

Mayor Lee Hyunjae expressed his appreciation by saying, "I sincerely thank the delegations, supporters, and guests from each neighborhood who participated in this year's contest. The passion and effort of the 13 teams representing their neighborhoods, who practiced hard for today, are making Hanam City more vibrant."

He added, "I hope today's contest becomes a joyful occasion for sharing talents and relieving everyday stress. Since the resident autonomy program is a valuable cultural asset of our city, we will continue to provide strong support so that citizens can enjoy culture in their daily lives."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.