A participatory festival celebrating Seongsu-dong's manufacturing culture runs Saturday and Sunday at Pubji Seongsu; highlights include making workshops, a flea market, round talks and a local tour
Seoul's Seongdong-gu will host the "2026 We Make Fest," a local maker festival, at Pubji Seongsu, a multipurpose cultural venue in Seongsu-dong, over two days this Saturday and Sunday.
We Make Fest is a participatory festival bringing together makers, local residents and creators based in Seongsu-dong. It is co-hosted by a residents' cooperative governance body, the Seongsu-dong local manufacturing brand We Make Seongsu and Seongdong-gu, and organized by the Urban Makers Association, a nonprofit.
This year's festival runs under the theme "Two days when everyone becomes a maker," offering a range of hands-on programs where visitors can make products, try experiences and connect with local makers.
The centerpiece of the festival is the Makers Flea Market, which runs throughout both days. It features booths where Seongsu-dong makers sell products they have crafted themselves, a rooftop exhibition, and a residents' seller market where Seongdong-gu residents participate as vendors.
Six hands-on making workshops will also run during the festival, giving participants a chance to experience the creative process firsthand. Options include decorating mugs, customizing clothes with appliqué, relaxation and meditation yoga, making glass dishes, coloring ceramic mirrors, and crafting keyrings from scrap materials.
A round-talk series will share the value of local creative culture. On Saturday, a Maker Relay Talk will feature Seongsu-dong makers recounting how they built their own brands and sharing stories from their workshops. On Sunday, a Local Connectors Talk will bring together organizers from Seoul's Seongsu-dong, Incheon's Baedari, Siheung in Gyeonggi Province and Daegu's Bukseong-ro to share their experiences discovering each area's unique resources and connecting people, spaces and culture.
Also on Sunday, a Seongsu Local Tour will be led by Ryu Geun-su, an architect who lives in Seongsu-dong. The tour takes participants through factories, studios, alleyways and the Han River waterfront to explore how the neighborhood has changed and the stories embedded in the area. A morning session will include an English-language tour for international visitors.
Tickets and registrations for individual programs are available through the Eventers website. Some programs — including workshops, the tour and the talks — will close on a first-come, first-served basis once capacity is reached.
Seongdong-gu District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa said the festival would give visitors a chance to experience Seongsu-dong's distinctive maker culture up close and enjoy the pleasure of creating something themselves. "We will continue working to help the area's unique manufacturing businesses thrive and connect with a wider range of people," she said.
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