The festive scenes of Songpa market from 200 years ago are set to come alive once more in the heart of Seoul.
Songpa-gu announced it will hold the 34th Songpa Baekjung Nori on Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. at Seoul Nori Madang, organized by the Songpa Folk Preservation Society.
Baekjung falls around the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, when rice-paddy weeding traditionally wraps up. For generations, Koreans marked the occasion by setting aside the hard work of farming to share food and festivities. Along with Jeongwol Daeboreum in the winter farming off-season, baekjung ranks as one of the most representative seasonal customs of Korea's agrarian society.
Songpa Baekjung Nori, however, has roots distinct from its rural counterparts. About 200 years ago, Songpa market was a commercial hub where goods and people converged along the Han River. Merchants of the day hired professional performance troupes to draw crowds to the marketplace, giving rise to Songpa's own "urban baekjung" tradition.
The festival nearly disappeared after the great flood of 1925 devastated the Songpa Ferry area, but the Songpa Folk Preservation Society revived the performances in 1989 and has kept the tradition alive ever since. This year marks its 34th staging.
This year's program opens with a gilnori street procession and a binari blessing ritual, followed by ssireum wrestling, Gyeonggi folk songs, the satirical mask dance drama Songpa Sandae Nori, tightrope walking and pungmul percussion — all unfolding over roughly 120 minutes. No reservation is required, and admission is free.
The organizing Songpa Folk Preservation Society carries on the national intangible heritage of Songpa Sandae Nori and the Seoul intangible heritage of Songpa Dari Balbgi, working to preserve and pass down the district's traditional culture. Songpa Sandae Nori gained particular international recognition in 2022, when UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of "Talchum, Mask Dance Drama in the Republic of Korea."
Songpa-gu has been broadening the foundation for transmitting its distinctive traditional culture so that it remains part of residents' everyday lives. The district renovated Seoul Nori Madang — built in 1984 — for the first time in more than 40 years and has offered regular traditional arts performances there since 2024, while presenting seasonal folk customs tied to the district's history, including the winter Songpa Dari Balbgi at Jeongwol Daeboreum and the summer Songpa Baekjung Nori.
"Songpa Baekjung Nori is a cultural heritage unique to Songpa, carrying forward the vitality and communal spirit of the Songpa market from 200 years ago," district mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "I hope people of all ages will come to Seoul Nori Madang and experience the charm and exhilaration of our folk arts up close."
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