Month of Culture Ceremony Held in Yeosu; Choi Hwiyoung: "We'll Develop Local Culture into Tourism Content"

Performances and hands-on events across Yeosu, Oct. 16-19
Celebratory performances by Seodo Band, Solar, Zion.T and others

The 2026 Month of Culture commemoration ceremony will be held on Oct. 17 in Yeosu, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Minister Choi Hwi-young will attend the ceremony and join in celebrating the Month of Culture.

To increase public understanding of and participation in culture and the arts, the government designated October as the Month of Culture and the third Saturday of October as Culture Day in 1972, and has held commemorative events ever since. The ceremony was held in Seoul every year until 2003, when it began rotating among regions to expand access to local culture and the arts and showcase the distinctive cultures of different areas.

This year's Month of Culture events will run from Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 at venues across Yeosu, including the main site of the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo, Yeosu Marine Park, Ungcheon Waterfront Park and Jangdo, known as the "Island of Art."

At the ceremony, which will be held on Oct. 17 on the open-air stage at the main site, Minister Choi and other guests will light the "Culture Lighthouse" and turn a ship's wheel. This will be followed by the theme performance, "Yeosu, From Time to Light." Weaving together stories of the sea, the city, its residents and artists, the performance portrays Yeosu's past, present and future as a single voyage. Congratulatory performances by Seodo Band, Solar and Zion.T, as well as a fireworks show, will follow.

At 3 p.m. on Oct. 18, the YK Dance Festa, a dance festival for young people and members of the public, will take place. The competition will be divided into student and general divisions, with one team in each division receiving the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award.

A variety of performances and hands-on programs will take place across Yeosu during the event. At Yeosu Marine Park, the Marine Street Arts Festival will feature street performances by local artists and professional performance teams, a marine-themed light street and an exhibition featuring invited international graffiti artists.

Ungcheon Waterfront Park will host the Living Culture Festival, with participation from living-culture groups across the country. Jangdo will feature classical music performances and "Library by the Sea," an outdoor reading program. The traveling "Culture Delivery" program will also visit islands and traditional markets. On the final day, Oct. 19, a Pungnyu Hanmadang and closing performance at the main site will bring the four-day event to a close.

Minister Choi Hwi-young said, "When people can experience culture and the arts not only on special days and in performance venues, but also in everyday life, in neighborhood streets, and throughout coastal areas and islands, travelers will stay an extra day and residents will want to live there for a long time. I will do my utmost to foster the joint development of culture and tourism so that each region's distinctive culture can grow into compelling tourism content and its vitality can enrich residents' daily lives."

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