'Seocho Sweet Night 2026 K-Dessert Festival in Han River' set for June 27–28 at Banpo Han River Park's Dalbit Square, featuring four themed zones: Dessert Zone, K-Playground, K-Culture Zone and Sweet Zone
Seocho-gu (district mayor Jeon Seong-su) will host the "Seocho Sweet Night 2026 K-Dessert Festival in Han River" at Dalbit Square in Banpo Han River Park on June 27 and 28, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
Amid growing attention to K-desserts and a shift in tourism trends from passive sightseeing to hands-on experiences, the festival is designed as an immersive tourism event where visitors can enjoy Korean flavors, culture and traditional games in one place — all set against the backdrop of the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain.
The venue will be divided into four zones: a Dessert Zone, K-Playground, K-Culture Zone and Sweet Zone.
The Dessert Zone will be set up around Dalbit Square, offering a wide range of K-desserts against the backdrop of the Han River at dusk and the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain at night — from traditional snacks such as yakgwa (honey cookies) and ppeongtwigi (puffed rice crackers) to trendy treats like dujjonku and butter tteok. Fifteen professional dessert vendors selected through an open application process will participate, boosting the festival's expertise and menu variety. A hands-on "Bungeoppang Cooking Class," where visitors can make the popular fish-shaped pastry themselves, will also be offered.
In the K-Playground, a participatory relay competition called "Challenge! K-Play King" will take place. Participants will compete in three successive rounds: an OX quiz on Seocho-gu, rock-paper-scissors, and jegi chagi (a traditional Korean hacky-sack game). The last four players standing will receive prizes sponsored by Golden Blue Marina and Han River Tubestar. First place wins a two-person boarding pass for a Rainbow Bridge yacht tour with Golden Blue Marina, while second through fourth place each receive a 30-minute Han River Tubestar experience voucher. The program will run twice daily, for a total of four sessions over the two days.
The K-Culture Zone will offer a range of Korean cultural experiences, including a hanbok experience corner where visitors can dress in traditional attire and take photos with Banpo Han River Park as the backdrop, a "One-Line Family Motto" booth where professional calligraphy and penmanship instructors write personalized phrases, and a "Make Your Own Gat-Shaped Keyring" craft activity. Visitors can participate freely by posting a photo taken at the venue on social media with the required hashtags (#고터세빛관광특구 #K디저트페스티벌 #반포한강공원).
The Sweet Zone will feature "Yeohaehaneunseo" (a traveling library), an outdoor reading space at the Han River park, as well as a "Visiting Youth Artist Concert" showcasing performances by young artists. A rest area with beanbag chairs and parasols will be set up in front of the stage so visitors can enjoy desserts, performances and relaxation together.
A "Visit Review Event" will also be held, with movie tickets for "Moana" awarded by lottery to participants who upload and verify photos of their festival experience on personal social media accounts.
Meanwhile, the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain show will begin at 7:30 p.m. each evening, adding a spectacular nighttime attraction to complement the Han River scenery. The combination of the fountain show and K-desserts is expected to offer domestic and international tourists a one-of-a-kind nighttime experience available only at the Han River.
"We have prepared a diverse lineup of content — K-desserts, K-games, K-culture and live performances — so that tourists from home and abroad can stay longer and enjoy more," district mayor Jeon said. "We will continue to develop differentiated tourism content unique to Seocho to strengthen our competitiveness as a global tourism destination."
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