Song Seungeun, the executive director of the Seoripul Festival, described the festival, which represents Seocho-gu in Seoul, in this way.

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The Seoripul Festival is an event where the 900-meter, 10-lane section of Banpodaero from Seocho Station to Seocho 3-dong Intersection is closed to traffic and transformed into a giant plaza. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 28th and 29th, and Seocho-gu expects more than 150,000 people to participate over the two days.

This weekend alone, about 12 festivals are taking place just in Seoul. That's only counting the official festivals hosted by district offices. With events in Gangnam-gu, Gangseo-gu, Gwangjin-gu, Guro-gu, Nowon-gu, Mapo-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Seocho-gu, Songpa-gu, Yangcheon-gu, Jongno-gu, and more, it's actually easier to find a district without a festival than with one.

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The reason so many festivals are clustered in a single week is that autumn is the perfect season for festivals, and since COVID-19, many new festivals have been launched by local governments. Districts are also competing to expand the scale of their events.

The Neungdong-ro Fashion Festival and Hip-Hop Breaking Festival organized by Gwangjin-gu are both new events this year targeting young people. The Bangsin Sage Festival in Gangseo-gu, Dancing Nowon in Nowon-gu, Red Road Festival in Mapo-gu, Sinchon Global University Culture Festival in Seodaemun-gu, and Rock Festival in Yangcheon-gu are all in their second year, with larger scale and more content than last year.

Mapo-gu planned its festival as part of a strategy to develop the area around Hongdae into a cultural tourism hub, branding it as "Red Road." Seodaemun-gu is emphasizing the revival of the Sinchon commercial district and reinforcing its image as a university and youth city.

The rock festival started by Yangcheon-gu last year features the unique idea of "blowing away airplane noise with rock music." That's why the festival is held in Sinwol-dong, an area affected by airport noise. Nowon-gu will continue to host festivals nearly every week until November, including Dancing Nowon this weekend and the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail Autumn Concert next weekend. Jongno-gu closes a 350-meter, six-lane section of Daehak-ro four times a year; this time, a jazz concert will take place there.

In terms of scale and celebrity line-up, the Gangnam Festival is unrivaled. K-POP concerts, large-scale fashion shows, and cover dance competitions attract not only locals but also thousands of international tourists every year, leading to nearby hotels being booked out early. This year as well, 15 teams including Guckkasten, Solar, Apink, Oh My Girl, ITZY, Kim Wonjun, and Koyote will perform at the concert. The Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival in Songpa-gu, once the capital of Baekje, is a nationwide cultural event that attracts 300,000 visitors annually.

Scene from the Gangnam Festival K-pop concert held on Yeongdong-daero last October. Provided by Gangnam-gu.

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The main reason local governments are so enthusiastic about festivals is the significant effect on revitalizing the local economy, such as increased sales for small businesses due to visitors from neighboring areas. There is growing demand from residents for more public cultural content, and these demands align with the interests of local government leaders to establish signature local brands.