Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival due in Sept.
Songpa-gu is a very attractive city. It was the capital city of the 500 years of the Hanseong Baekje Kingdom, where the history of Seoul began. Songpa-gu, which has the Olympic Park, which was the main venue for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Lotte World Tower and Seokchon Lake, which have become essential courses for hallyu tourism, is the city where Korea's traditions, modern and future coexist. In recognition of its colorful attractions, the Jamsil area in Songpa-gu was designated as the first special tourist zone in Gangnam (southeastern Seoul) on March 15, 2012
The Jamsil Special Tourist Zone connects Lotte World, Seokchon Lake, Bangimatgol and the Olympic Park. What's more special than anywhere else is that you can enjoy a combination of healing, on-hand experience and shopping in the city center. There are a variety of foods to enjoy at Bangimatgol and Songridangil (Seokchon Lake Cafe Street), while colorful experiences and shopping await tourists at Lotte Adventure, World Tower and Olympic Park.
The historical cultural properties of Bangigobun, Pungnap Fortress, and Mongchon Fortress are also located nearby. They have also good accessibility. Using Subway Line 2, Line 8, and Line 9, which is connected to Gimpo International Airport, anyone can easily enjoy nature, history, culture, shopping, food and entertainment trips in one place.
Time travel to leave 2,000 years ago, "2019 Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival"
Every fall, Songpa-gu features a time trip back to the past 2,000 years. A colorful program lasts for three days to experience and recreate the culture of the Hanseong Baekje era at the center of the Olympic Park. It is the “Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival.” It has become a representative festival of Korea over the past two decades, including the selection of Seoul's only culture and tourism festival for six consecutive years and the receipt of the world festival Olympic Pinnacle Awards for seven consecutive years.
This year's festival will be held from Sept. 27 to 29 under the theme of "the founding of Baekje opens Seoul, an ancient city of 2,000 years." The flagship program, "History, Culture and Street Parade," will run for about two hours from 3 p.m. on Sept. 29. Starting with the range of Jamsil Subway Station, it will march about 1.5 km to the Olympic Park Peace Plaza. Songpa residents and groups will wear traditional garments and participate in the event to realistically recreate the ancient culture of the Hanseong Baekje era, which was preserved by Songpa with colorful dance moves and performances. It is a rare opportunity to experience a huge parade in central Seoul.
What’s more, some 50 other hand-on experience programs will be available this year, including the newly introduced "Miro of Baekje," rice straw slides and falcon hunting. The festival will also feature a "Mongchon Haeja Waterfront Concert" in which citizens and youths will actively participate, and a competition for the Hanseong Baekje Youth Club..
Of note, this year's theme performances of Baekje Cultural Festival in Buyeo and Gongju will be held at the closing ceremony as part of the exchange of Baekje Cultural Festival. Songpa-gu's theme performance will also be invited to the Baekje Cultural Festival. The Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, is expected to develop into the Greater Baekje Cultural Sphere beyond Songpa.
Olympic Park, the main venue for the Olympics, transforms into main stage of
the Korean Wave.
It has been 31 years since the Seoul Olympics were staged. Even now, there are international competitions and large-scale events in Songpa-gu throughout the year. After hosting the Olympics, it is considered a city with high utilization of stadiums.
Recently, sports facilities in Songpa-gu have been in the spotlight as a new venue for leisure culture. Typically, the portion of foreign tourists visiting Songpa-gu to see them is on a steady rise as the Olympic Park hosts large-scale performances by K-pop stars throughout the year.
In coming months, the Jamsil Sports Complex area will hopefully be transformed into a competitive MICE (Meeting, Incentive Tour, Convention and Exhibition) hub that combines exhibition and convention, sports, performances, entertainment and waterfront cultural leisure. In particular, "Korea Art Zone" and "Developing Underground Space at the Olympic Highway" are being promoted by strengthening connectivity between the Sports Complex and Jamsil Special Tourist Zone.
Tourist Information
You can visit the Songpa Tourist Information Center located in Dongho, Seokchon Lake. Tourism supporters, who can speak foreign languages such as English, Japanese, Chinese and Russian, are stationed to provide tour guides and interpretation services. There are also some 50 types of tourism promotion leaflets, which are produced in four languages (Korean, Chinese, English, and Japanese). It also sells various tourist souvenirs featuring the characteristics of Songpa, including snowballs, hanji dolls and tumblers.
Recently, a unique photo zone has been set up in front of the Songpa Tourism Information Center, drawing attention as a new tourist attraction. It has produced the hottest idol group BTS as a life-size loner. It is very popular among teenagers at home and abroad. In addition, the “I•SEOUL•U♥ SONGPA” sculpture is 12 meters wide and 1.35 meters high, and can feature the heart of Songpa against the backdrop of Seokchon Lake. It is becoming a must-have photo course for tourists visiting the Lotte World Tower
In addition, the Songpa-gu Office runs a "moving tourist information center" at major locations in the Jamsil Special Tourist Zone, including Jamsil Subway Station’s underground plaza. It is gaining popularity as it provides more active services such as interpretation, tour guide, distribution of promotional materials, and close-range accompanying services at the sites where tourists visit.
Tour information search using the comprehensive information system (Kiosk) is also available at any time. It is installed in five major tourist attractions (underground square at Jamsil Station, Songpa Tourist Information Center, Bangimatgol entrance, Olympic Park), and you can check about Songpa tourist information, restaurants, festivals and events.