A performance of the hit show “Nanta” in 2020 is held at the opening ceremony of the festival “Welcome Daehakro.”
ByYoo Yeon Gyeong
Photos = Korea Tourism Organization
A festival opens this weekend to promote Korean cultural content and foster Daehangno (also spelled as Daehakro), the nation’s traditional performing arts mecca in Seoul’s Jongno-gu District, as the national hub of performance tourism.
“2022 Welcome Daehakro” slated to open on Sept. 24 will be hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and jointly supervised by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and Korea Performing Arts and Tourism Association. The event will run until Oct. 30 in the Daehangno district.
As the nation’s leading festival for the performing arts, this year’s event is the sixth of its kind and features non-verbal and traditional performances, musicals and plays.
The event this year will present a record-high 150 performances.
The opening event is “Welcome Road Show” on Sept. 24.
The host of the opening ceremony is actor Park So-dam from the film “Parasite.”
The festival’s promotional ambassadors are actor O Yeong-su from the Netflix hit series “Squid Game” and dancer Monika from the reality TV program “Street Woman Fighter,” both of whom will hold a special performance.
The entire Daehangno street from Ewha Intersection to Hyehwa Station Exit 1 will be off limits to cars to serve as venues for 32 performing teams.
To promote Daehangno abroad, the festival includes tours that include performances and visits to leading restaurants and tourist attractions in the area like Marronnier Park and Naksan Park. Discount coupons usable at 30 stores or restaurants in the Daehangno area will also be distributed.
Formed in the 1970s, Daehangno is home to 150 performance venues.
You Jin-ho, executive director of the KTO’s Tourism Product Development Department, said, “To make Daehangno a performing arts mecca like the West End of London and Broadway of New York and turn it into a can’t miss tourist spot for international visitors to Seoul, we will further expand and develop ‘Welcome Daehakro’ as Asia’s leading festival for performance tourism.”
This is the promotional poster for the festival “2022 Welcome Daehakro.”
dusrud21@korea.kr
