Running Oct. 5–11 across Seongsu-dong — including S-Factory, PUBG Seongsu, Yeonmujang-gil and Superfast — the seven-day festival spans 13 program categories featuring local companies in gaming, fashion, beauty and more
Seoul's Seongdong-gu will host the 2026 Creative×Seongsu, a global creative industries festival bringing together Seongsu-dong's creative businesses and cultural content, from Oct. 5 to 11 across the neighborhood.
Creative×Seongsu is a global creative industries festival planned and run by cultural and creative companies based in Seongdong-gu, with support from the district office and the Seongdong Cultural Foundation. Since its debut in 2023, the festival has grown consistently — drawing about 50,000 visitors across nine program categories in its first year, around 160,000 across 11 categories in 2024, and approximately 230,000 across 13 categories last year — establishing itself as Seongsu-dong's signature event.
This year's edition takes "Creative Metamorphosis" as its theme, running 13 program categories over seven days and transforming the entire neighborhood into a single festival venue.
Building on three years of results, organizers have restructured the program lineup to make the festival more intuitive for visitors. Lecture and pitch programs previously scattered across individual categories will be consolidated into a single "Summit" track, bringing together experts, companies and creators from fields including social impact, webtoons, beauty and gaming to share industry trends and new possibilities.
The CT Fair — which previously showcased culture-technology convergence content — will be expanded this year into a thematic exhibition under the concept of "connection." Rather than focusing solely on technology, the exhibition will explore how the physical space of Seongsu-dong and human sensory experience intersect and evolve, presenting new forms of change that emerge when technology, content and people come together.
The Summit and the thematic exhibition will run for four days from the Oct. 8 opening ceremony through Oct. 11 at S-Factory, Seongsu-dong's flagship multipurpose cultural venue. Both will be free of charge this year to reach as many visitors as possible.
Play Seongsu — an urban escape-game experience that drew about 11,000 participants last year — returns with a new storyline called "Color Adventure." Players use an app and web-based missions to explore landmarks across Seongsu-dong throughout the festival, uncovering new potential in familiar urban spaces in what organizers describe as a game tailored to the neighborhood.
The Seongsu Art Fair will feature an exhibition of works by 75 emerging artists alongside pieces by artist Choi Se-hun, who combines architectural engineering with AI algorithms to create media art.
On Oct. 10, a stretch of Seongsu 2-ro will be transformed into a runway and performance venue. Fashion Seongsu will stage a fashion show featuring high school designers and models, while Music Seongsu will offer a series of outdoor performances. Performances will continue through Oct. 11 in alleyways across Seongsu-dong, turning the entire neighborhood into a lively festival ground.
The food-and-drink event Tasty Seongsu rounds out the lineup, with popular local restaurants offering complimentary items and discounts. A retro chimaek party themed around the game Battlegrounds will also be held at PUBG Seongsu near Seoul Forest.
Alongside these, Beauty Seongsu will host beauty pop-ups featuring companies and influencers at Superfast Seoul Forest, while Webtoon Seongsu will showcase works by graduating students from Hanyang Women's University's webtoon program. Tour Seongsu will offer in-depth explorations of Seongsu-dong's brand spaces alongside tours featuring stories from longtime neighborhood residents. Seongsu Made will present a large-scale craft market and hands-on programs in collaboration with Seongdong-gu's urban regeneration project. Film Seongsu will screen feature films from around the world as well as short films at Seongsu Art Hall and Seoul Forest.
Super Junior member Leeteuk has been named ambassador for the 2026 Creative×Seongsu festival — his third consecutive year in the role, following 2024 and 2025. He will kick off his duties with a pre-festival video message and help promote Seongsu-dong's creative industries and culture to a wider public.
Seongdong-gu District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa said Creative×Seongsu is "a festival where companies, creators, spaces and citizens gathered in Seongsu connect with one another to create new possibilities." She added: "With diverse content on offer across all of Seongsu-dong again this year, I hope it will be a special experience where visitors can discover the creative energy and fresh appeal that make Seongsu-dong unique."
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