Ministry of Culture to Host Youth Culture Week at Hongdae Café from September 4 to 5

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on September 1 that it will host the “2026 Youth Culture Week: Today’s Youth, Today’s Culture” under the theme “Deepening Thought, Sharing Taste” at a café in Hongdae, Seoul (68, Eoulmadang-ro, Mapo-gu) from September 4 to 5.

Youth Culture Week is a festival that explores and empathizes with the lives and realities of young people through the lens of culture. It aims to examine the perspectives of the Millennial and Gen Z generation and gather their opinions to establish a foundation for cultural growth. The Hongdae street venue will be divided into several spaces: the “Stage of Thought and Inspiration” (B1), the “Plaza of Taste” (1F), the “Lounge of Connection” (2F), and the “Studio of Sharing” (5F). Young participants will have the freedom to attend lectures, performances, hands-on activities, and communication programs in each space, enabling them to broaden their perspectives.

On the first day, September 4, Kim Ahyoung, Director at the publisher MUZE, and content creator Hans will host talks on the themes “How Does Taste Become Work and Culture?” and “How Running Became Content,” respectively. This will be followed by a performance by the three-member modern rock band Dear Cloud.

On September 5, Taeyong Yoon, operator of the sketch comedy channel Ddib, will give a lecture titled “Empathy Begins with Experience.” Author Seungyeon Cho will lead a “Forum on the Value of the Humanities” under the theme “Designing Your Own Standards in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).” Singer Kim Poom will perform her original music, and singer Jin Eun Oh, who began her career in the Hongdae indie music scene, will also perform to encourage young people. Jin Eun Oh will also engage in a talk with youth on the topic “How to Do What You Love for a Long Time.”

On the first floor’s “Plaza of Taste,” there will be a booth called “Today’s Culture Recipe” where participants can explore their cultural tendencies, and a “Cultural Prescription Center” that offers advice tailored to participants’ cultural symptoms. At the “My Own Stationery Store” booth, connected with the “Forum on the Value of the Humanities,” attendees can assemble their own personalized diaries.

The “Lounge of Connection” on the second floor will feature booths hosted by a variety of youth culture and hobby communities spanning culture, sports, music, mental well-being, and humanities forums, so young people can expand their experiences and networks according to their interests. Of note is the youth intern booth, where participants can play a balance game to learn about the ministry’s youth policies in a fun and accessible way. At the “Youth Voices Garden,” an online policy suggestion platform booth, the opinions of young people on cultural experiences will be gathered and reflected in policy proposals. The fifth-floor “Studio of Sharing” will host group workshops linked with the “Forum on the Value of the Humanities.”

Youth Culture Week is free to attend, and anyone can register their participation in advance via the Naver Reservation website until September 3.

Hyangmi Jeong, policy chief for culture and the arts at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, commented, “We hope that through this event, young people will discover their own thoughts and tastes, share with others, and have a meaningful experience in creating culture together. The Ministry will continue to strengthen the policy foundation so that young people can enjoy, challenge themselves in, and grow through culture.”

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