Seoul's Gangseo-gu will hold the 23rd Disability Harmony Festival at Banghwa Neighborhood Park on Friday, featuring performances and a talk concert by artists with and without disabilities to foster understanding and empathy.
Seoul's Gangseo-gu will host the 23rd Disability Harmony Festival at Banghwa Neighborhood Park starting at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Organized by the Gangseo-gu Federation of Disability Organizations, the annual event brings together people with and without disabilities to share experiences and build mutual understanding. Since its inaugural edition in 2003, it has grown into one of the district's signature festivals for raising disability awareness.
About 950 residents with disabilities and their families are expected to attend this year. The program is divided into two parts: an opening ceremony and a cultural arts performance.
The first part opens with celebratory performances — a fan dance by the Haemaji Arts Troupe and a Jindo drum dance by Pungnyu Note — followed by the opening ceremony and a welfare grant presentation.
The second part begins at 1 p.m. with a variety of performances and a talk concert aimed at improving public awareness of disability issues. Singers Lee Gyu-seok and Pungeum will perform, joined by disability arts groups including Eum Band and Cheongjaji Band across multiple genres. Comedian Lee Dong-yeop will then host a talk concert designed to challenge social prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities.
Throughout the venue, interactive booths will offer hands-on programs open to all. Visitors can experience universal design — an approach to creating spaces and products usable by everyone regardless of age, disability or language — as well as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools that help people who have difficulty speaking or writing, and sign language lessons.
Additional booths will let visitors make perfume and personal stamps, and try Hangung — a recreational sport combining traditional Korean archery and tujho ring-toss with darts. A photo zone at the venue entrance will give attendees a chance to capture memories of the day.
"This festival is a meaningful occasion for people with and without disabilities to respect one another and come together as one," Gangseo-gu District Mayor Jin Kyo-hoon said. "We will continue to do our utmost to build an inclusive welfare environment where people with disabilities can live as full members of our community, free from discrimination or inconvenience."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
