Seoul's Nowon-gu, led by District Mayor Seo Jun-o, is hosting "2026 Nowon Star N," a lifestyle culture competition designed to transform the everyday hobbies and talents of residents into a vibrant local cultural scene.
Now in its fourth year, Nowon Star N is a resident-participation competition in which clubs based in Nowon-gu showcase their skills on a professional stage. The event goes beyond simply ranking participants — it offers new performance experiences and opportunities for clubs to connect with one another, and it supports continued local performance activity even after the competition ends.
Participating genres span the full range of performance arts, including vocals, bands, dance, choir and other performance formats, bringing together clubs of all generations and styles to express their individual personalities and talents.
Last year, 60 teams drawn from a wide range of generations — including university students, homemakers and elementary school pupils — took part, presenting diverse performances such as cheerleading, hula dance and ukulele. The event was recognized for fostering residents' artistic growth and encouraging voluntary cultural participation, earning the 2025 Korea Association of Local Culture Foundations Chairman's Award as an outstanding regional culture case.
This year, to strengthen the community character of lifestyle culture, the competition is open to clubs of three or more members rather than individuals. At least two-thirds of each club's members must live or work in Nowon-gu, and professional performance troupes and professional artists are excluded, keeping the stage firmly centered on resident clubs.
Preliminary rounds will be held at Nowon Culture and Arts Center from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5. Twenty teams will advance from the preliminaries to the final, scheduled for Nov. 21, where five teams will be selected as winners. Judging combines evaluations by a panel of professional judges, peer assessments among participating teams and votes from a resident audience panel, making the competition a collaborative effort between participants and the community.
The five winning teams will receive prize money including the Star Award of 1.5 million won ($1,060), along with Culture, Charm and Popularity awards. All 20 teams that advance to the final will also receive an activity support grant of 200,000 won per team.
Support continues after the competition. All 20 finalists will be automatically selected as recipients of lifestyle culture performance support in 2027, giving them opportunities to perform on various local stages. The district plans to sustain a virtuous cycle — from club discovery to stage experience to local performance activity — so that residents' hobbies and talents can grow and spread as part of the community's living culture.
"Nowon Star N is a project where residents can bring the hobbies and talents they enjoy in daily life to the stage and grow them together into the culture of our community," District Mayor Seo said. "We will continue to support residents' voluntary cultural activities so that anyone can go beyond being an audience member and become the star."
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