Mayor Kim Hyunki of Gangnam: "Gangnam Festival to Become a Global Event... Dosan-daero Will Be the Stage"

K-pop, Fashion, and Gastronomy from October 3 to 5
"Grand Parade" Featuring Participation from Residents of All 22 Neighborhoods

"This is the first year where the entire city, not just the audience, will become a festival."

Hyunki Kim, Mayor of Seoul’s Gangnam District, spoke about the upcoming "2026 Gangnam Festival," which will take place from October 3 to 5, expressing his ambition to develop the event to the extent that when people think of "K-Festival," Gangnam immediately comes to mind. He announced plans to elevate the festival—previously a district-level event—into a citywide celebration that would attract visitors from Korea and abroad.

Gangnam District Mayor Hyunki Kim is explaining the '2026 Gangnam Festival' at a press briefing on the 28th. Photo by Minjin Kim.

On the 28th, Gangnam District held a press briefing at the Seoul City Hall briefing room to announce these plans. Mayor Kim stated, "For the 15th anniversary of the festival, the stage will be moved from Yeongdong-daero to Dosan-daero, transforming a 10-lane road into a festival space."

The most significant change this year is the "Grand Parade," which will take place on the afternoon of the 3rd from 4:00 PM along a roughly 1-kilometer stretch from Cheongdam Sageori to Dosan Park Sageori. Mayor Kim explained that the event was modeled after major international festivals, such as the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

The parade will consist of seven themes, each represented by a letter in "GANGNAM." It will begin with a traditional ceremonial band and procession, followed sequentially by giant character balloons, parade cars inspired by games, robots, fashion models, and more.

Residents are at the heart of the procession. About 2,000 residents from Gangnam's 22 neighborhoods will walk the parade route, each group dressed in costumes and accessories distinctive to their area. Mayor Kim noted that although the previous 14 festivals had their achievements, they lacked sufficient community interest and participation. This is why this year's parade was designed as a resident-participation event.

The "main stage" highlighted by Mayor Kim is the K-pop concert to be held on the 4th at 6:00 PM, featuring artists such as Lun8, SayMyName, AlphaDriveOne, Zerobaseone, Kiki, P1Harmony, and with Psy as the finale performer. The concert will run for about two hours, and the 10,000 free reservation tickets have already sold out. On the preceding day, the 3rd, at 7:00 PM, a family concert will be held with appearances by Namjin, Lim Changjung, Kim Wonjun, and others, along with programs including a Korean traditional music performance and a temple music concert at Bongeunsa Temple.

Mayor Kim predicted that, in addition to the approximately 13,000 free ticket holders, the fashion and food event guests will bring the number of people present at the venue simultaneously to at least 30,000. The district will assign over 2,600 personnel, including specialists, public officials, and model drivers, to the event sites during the festival.

Traffic control will vary by section. The main event area, from Hakdong Sageori to Dosan Park Sageori, will be closed from midnight on the 2nd, blocking all lanes in both directions for the 3rd and 4th, except for one lane reserved for emergency vehicles. On the 3rd, during the parade, the road from the southern end of Yeongdong Bridge to Cheongdam Sageori to Hakdong Sageori will have its six northbound lanes closed while maintaining two-way traffic on the six southbound lanes. Traffic returns to normal at 5:00 AM on the 5th.

Expected Image of the Gangnam Festival Grand Parade (AI Generated). Provided by Gangnam-gu.

Mayor Kim also emphasized the importance of minimizing disruptions to businesses in Apgujeong, Cheongdam, and Sinsa-dong, such as wedding and makeup shops. He explained that the parade’s starting point was revised from Apgujeong Galleria Department Store to Cheongdam Sageori specifically to reduce traffic inconvenience for these businesses. Mayor Kim added, "We will maximize safety and minimize any inconvenience to residents and merchants."

According to the district's own estimate, last year’s festival attracted approximately 76,000 attendees on site and about 840,000 participants online, totaling some 916,000 people. The economic effect was estimated at around 17.7 billion won, with a sales growth rate for nearby shops of about 8% compared to the period before the festival.

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