Traditional music, folk games and cultural events fill the holiday weekend, with museums and palaces open late. Seoul Autumn Festa runs through the break, while outdoor libraries at Seoul Plaza and Cheonggyecheon stay open until 10 p.m. from Friday through Sunday.

A Chuseok event at Unhyeongung in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during the holiday period. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A Chuseok event at Unhyeongung in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during the holiday period. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will offer a range of cultural programs — including special holiday performances, exhibitions and hands-on activities — at traditional cultural venues, museums and galleries from Thursday through Sunday. Some facilities will remain open until 9 p.m.

Unhyeongung in Jongno-gu will host "Haengungadeuk Hangawi," a Chuseok event running daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the holiday, featuring traditional folk games, craft workshops, and performances of Korean classical music and dance. The Seoul Woori Soori Museum of Korean Music, also in Jongno-gu, will offer full-moon games and traditional folk activities, with calligraphy blessings, a gugak performance and a ganggangsullae circle-dance experience on Thursday.

From Friday through Sunday, Namsangol Hanok Village in Jung-gu will stage "Namsan Dalbit Madang," a moonlit courtyard festival featuring tightrope walking, Arirang and other gugak performances, nubi quilting, hanbok and traditional hairstyle experiences, and traditional food programs. The World Pansori Festival will also run concurrently.

On Chuseok Day itself, Saturday, the Hanseong Baekje Museum in Songpa-gu will offer free activities including samulnori, the Bukcheongsajachum lion dance, jegi kicking, and kite and mother-of-pearl top making. Seoul Museum of History in Jongno-gu will hold gugak busking, traditional weaving games, folk painting and full-moon lantern making, and hands-on traditional farming experiences.

Seoul Museum of Lifestyle in Nowon-gu will also mark the holiday with a magic balloon show, fusion gugak and traditional folk games. Its "Culture-Flowing Museum" program, running from 1 to 5 p.m., will offer free admission to the magic balloon show and fusion gugak concert, along with activities such as tuho ring toss, king jegi kicking, biseokchigi stone-flipping and wooden lucky-pouch making.

Seoul Autumn Festa, the city's autumn performing arts festival, continues through the holiday break. Seoul Dohwamun National Gugak Center in Jongno-gu will host "Yeoyu Jak Concert," an outdoor gugak performance, on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, Seoul Nori Madang in Songpa-gu will offer free admission to the World Dance Festival, featuring international dance troupes.

Outdoor reading spaces will also be available in the evenings. "Book-Reading Seoul Plaza," "Gwanghwamun Book Square" and the Cheonggyecheon "Book-Reading Clear Stream" will operate from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Friday through Sunday. Special Chuseok film screenings, author-led "book gazing" sessions and family "pajama book gazing" events — where families read together in sleepwear — are also planned.

Free admission to major exhibitions will be available at Seoul Museum of History, Seoul Museum of Art in Jung-gu and Seoul Museum of Craft in Jongno-gu throughout the holiday. On offer are a retrospective marking the 110th birth anniversary of painter Yoo Youngkuk, a retrospective of photographer Martin Parr, "Seoul Urban Planning: The Grand View," and "Yeomingongsu: Defending Together with the People" — a lineup spanning art, photography, history and craft.

Seoul Museum of History, Hanseong Baekje Museum, Seoul Museum of Craft and Unhyeongung are among the facilities that will stay open until 9 p.m. However, operating hours, closure days, and reservation or paid-activity requirements vary by venue, so visitors are advised to check the Seoul Culture Portal or each institution's website before heading out.

"It's a short holiday, but a wide variety of events — from traditional cultural experiences to performances, exhibitions and late-night reading — will be taking place across Seoul," said Min Su-hong, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Culture Bureau. "Whether with family and friends or on your own, I hope everyone finds a nearby cultural space and enjoys a fulfilling and relaxed Chuseok."


ken@heraldcorp.com