The festival features a vibrant opening show, fringe performances, K-Stage lineup, guided tours, and a stamp tour, providing a diverse cultural experience to visitors

Korea Tourism Organization

Seoul's Daehangno district saw an influx of visitors on Sunday as the "2023 Welcome Daehakro," the country's largest domestic performance tourism festival, kicked off. The festival commenced with a lively opening show on the main street, showcasing an array of performances including musicals, dances, taekwondo demonstrations, and marching bands.

As part of the festival, fringe performances are set to continue throughout October, featuring outdoor shows at Marronnier Park on specific dates. These performances encompass a wide range of street arts, spanning theater, musicals, non-verbal shows, magic, and classical music. 

▲ "2023 Welcome Daehakro" (Korea Tourism Organization)

Six performances were carefully selected for the K-Stage lineup through a competition. This lineup includes various genres such as romantic musical drama, traditional historical musical, musical drama, film-inspired musical, and a magic drawing show.

Additionally, the festival is enhancing accessibility by broadcasting one performance daily through online platforms like YouTube, Naver TV, and Mafengwo, a travel and leisure platform in China. The broadcasts come with multilingual subtitles in English, Japanese, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese.

The festival offers two guided tours in English, providing an immersive experience of Korean culture to both foreign and Korean tourists. The tours, lasting two hours each, explore the cultural landmarks of Daehakro and require a minimum of four participants.

▲ A scene from "Old Wicked Songs" (Ninestory, Park Company)
The Campus Tour, scheduled on specific dates, allows visitors to dress in old-style student uniforms while exploring Sungkyunkwan University's cultural heritage and campus. The Culture Tour, offered on selected dates, blends modern and traditional experiences by visiting cultural festivals and historical fortresses.

For an interactive festival experience, visitors can engage in the "stamp tour," collecting recommended stamps to earn rewards such as a water bottle or bottle strap. Additionally, an English guidebook is available, offering recommendations for restaurants, cafes, and shops in the district.

Sayart.net

Blue YIM, yimyoungseo1010@naver.com