Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture to Launch 'Local Culture' Events Breaking Down District Boundaries

Connecting Local Cultural Resources to Showcase Seoul's Unique Artistic Charm
Festivals, Exhibitions, and Workshops in Areas like Anyangcheon, Haebangchon, and Mullae-dong

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture announced on May 22 that it will launch the "Artistic Charm Seoul" project in collaboration with cultural institutions of the five major autonomous districts in Seoul. The aim of this initiative is to provide citizens with artistic experiences in their daily lives through a variety of local cultural cooperation projects.

Making its debut this year, "Artistic Charm Seoul" is a program that discovers and supports regional cultural projects based on joint cooperation among cultural institutions of each district. The foundation plans to break down cultural boundaries between districts and connect scattered cultural resources by artistic themes, thereby introducing the distinctive artistic charm of Seoul to its citizens in a new way.

To this end, a call for proposals was issued to all 25 autonomous districts of Seoul for collaborative projects that link shared local cultural resources and themes within each region. As a result, a total of seven projects were finally selected. The foundation will provide budget support for these selected projects and carry out diverse promotional activities to build their branding and expand citizen engagement.

The selected projects combine Seoul's diverse local backgrounds with various cultural and artistic themes. The main stages will be specialized local streets, tributaries of the Han River, parks, local landmarks, and cultural hubs. Themes such as hyperlocality, youth culture, urban art, relaxation and everyday life, regional art belts, and artist exchanges will be incorporated, and citizens will be able to enjoy festivals, performances, exhibitions, and hands-on experiences in various formats through the end of the year.

In the central area, the Jung-gu, Jongno, and Yongsan cultural foundations have prepared "2026 Cells of the City," connecting the representative cultural streets of each district: Euljiro, Hyoja-ro, and Haebangchon Street. Together with local artists, planners, and merchants, they will produce local content such as podcasts and art maps, and will hold a "Local Week" event in September and October that combines tours, exhibitions, and hands-on experiences across the three streets.

In the northeastern area, the Jungnang, Dobong, Gwangjin, and Nowon cultural foundations will work with young artists from the visual arts and street dance sectors to jointly create works themed on peace and relaxation, reflecting the recent "chilling" trend that has become popular among young people in the region.

In the southwestern area, the Guro, Geumcheon, and Yangcheon cultural foundations will focus on Anyangcheon, the stream connecting the three districts. Together with citizens, they will collect, interpret, and create the rhythms of the city, presenting these through performances and exhibitions in the riverside spaces along Anyangcheon in September and October, under the project "Rhythm of the City, Art of Everyday Life."

In the southeastern area, the Gangnam, Songpa, and Gangdong cultural foundations will organize the "Southeast Art Circulation Project: Your Day," reflecting the region's specialization as a belt for performing arts such as classical music. From August to October, three district art groups will jointly plan and host music performances for citizens in major outdoor cultural spaces such as riverside plazas across the three districts.

In addition, in the northwestern area, the Eunpyeong Cultural Foundation and Seodaemun District Office are preparing a local everyday culture project consisting of workshops and an arts festival involving local artists and citizens.

Song Hyeongjong, CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, stated, "'Artistic Charm Seoul' is a new model where the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture and each regional district collaborate to present Seoul’s unique cultural resources to citizens as the true charm of the city. By fostering connections, we aim to bring forth new artistic value from local areas, making Seoul more attractive and enabling citizens to experience the essence of Seoul in their daily lives."

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture is leading the "Artistic Charm Seoul" project in collaboration with cultural institutions from five major autonomous districts in Seoul. Seoul City

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.