Gangnam-gu to run Food Week zone and MediTour pop-up at COEX from Wednesday to Saturday
Presidential Award-winning traditional liquors paired with hansik; daegeum performances and cultural experiences on offer
Medical tourism information for foreign visitors aims to draw exhibition-goers into the local district
A special venue bringing together traditional Korean food, culture and Gangnam's medical tourism offerings will open at COEX for both domestic and international visitors.
Gangnam-gu announced it will operate the "2026 Gangnam Food Week Zone" and the "2026 Gangnam MediTour Pop-up Zone" in the lounges on either side of COEX's east entrance from Wednesday to Saturday.
The event is tied to the "2026 Korea Food Week," co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and COEX. The aim is to connect visitors who come to Gangnam for international exhibitions and conventions with local tourism resources and nearby businesses, extending their stay and boosting spending in the district.
The Gangnam Food Week Zone, themed "The Taste and Style of Gangnam," will serve as an experiential space blending traditional food and culture. It will showcase three Presidential Award-winning traditional liquors — Applelees, Cheonbihyang and Mowol — alongside dishes made with hansik ingredients, including olive and cherry tomato jeonggwa skewers, lotus root chip mashed potato canapés, and fermented squid cream cheese nurungji chips.
A consumer incentive program linked to the local business district will also be on offer. Visitors who present a physical receipt showing a purchase of 10,000 won ($7) or more at COEX or a store in Samseong-dong and complete a tourism survey will receive a free food tasting experience. The initiative is designed to channel spending by exhibition visitors into the surrounding commercial area.
Traditional music performances will be held three times daily throughout the event — at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Kim Sang-yeon, a daegeum player and professor at Chonnam National University, will serve as artistic director, presenting a different program at each time slot.
Visitors will also be able to try on a durumagi robe and gat hat, and pose at a photo zone styled after a hanok with an ink-wash painting backdrop — giving foreign tourists a natural introduction to Korean traditional culture and a chance to take home a souvenir photo.
Running concurrently, the Gangnam MediTour Pop-up Zone will target foreign visitors. Under the theme "A Journey of Self-Care, Blooming in Gangnam," the zone will be designed as a "Medi Garden" offering information on medical tourism in Gangnam. The concept is to gauge visitors' areas of interest through hands-on experiences and convert that attention into actual medical tourism visits.
"We organized this event so that domestic and international visitors to COEX can go beyond simply viewing exhibitions and instead enjoy Korean food and culture while experiencing the many attractions Gangnam has to offer," Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-ki said. "We will actively connect international exhibitions and conventions with local tourism resources to extend visitors' stays and inject new energy into the local business district."
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