Mayor Shin Sangjin: "A Festival Where Residents Can Experience and Enjoy Cutting-Edge Technology, Culture and the Arts"

Seongnam City Opens Seongnam Tech Art Festival
Festival Runs Through October 25 at Pangyo, Tancheon and Other Venues
3,000-Drone Show, Robots and Kayaking Among the Highlights
Citywide Playground for Technology and the Arts

The 2026 Seongnam Tech Art Festival, a festival in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, that brings together cutting-edge technology and culture and the arts, opened at Pangyo Station Plaza on the afternoon of October 23. Through October 25, a three-day program of hands-on activities, exhibitions and performances will take place at venues across the city, including Pangyo Station Plaza, Tancheon, Seongnam City Hall and Seongnam Sports Complex.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin performs a handshake with a robot at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Seongnam Tech Art Festival, held at Pangyo Station Plaza on the 23rd. Photo courtesy of Seongnam City.

About 1,000 people attended the opening ceremony, held at 5:30 p.m. that day, including Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin, city council officials, business representatives and residents. The event began with a performance by five artificial intelligence (AI) robots, followed by a touch-button ceremony featuring Mayor Shin and the robots. A tech concert by Bitpella House, which combines a cappella and beatboxing, was also held.

Mayor Shin Sangjin said, "The aim of the Seongnam Tech Art Festival is not merely to let people watch cutting-edge technology and culture and the arts, but to give residents the opportunity to experience and enjoy them firsthand. We will continue working to create a city where cutting-edge technology and culture and the arts naturally become part of residents' everyday lives and are accessible to everyone."

Now in its fourth year, the festival is a reimagined version of the Seongnam Festival, which began in 2023, tailored to the city's strengths in advanced industries. This year's slogan is "Seongnam, an AI Innovation City: Play the Future."

Until October 24, a Tech Pop-Up Zone where visitors can experience AI, robotics and media art will operate at Pangyo Station Plaza. Eight companies and creative organizations will showcase technology-related content. On October 24, the "Creative Talk" will also be held, where AI content creators will share their creative experiences and discuss changes in technology.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin declares the opening of the 2026 Seongnam Tech Art Festival at Pangyo Station Plaza on the 23rd. Provided by Seongnam City.

During the festival, kayaking will be available every day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. along the Yatapgyo-Hatapgyo section of Tancheon. A Tech Playground and a Fourth Industrial Revolution Experience Zone, where visitors can explore robots, drones, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), will also be open. Tancheon Market, a Global Food Zone and a Digital Garden will also be set up.

At night, a multimedia show combining light, lasers, video and music will take place against the backdrop of the Tancheon waterfront.

The festival's highlight, the Drone Light Show, will illuminate the night sky on both October 24 and 25. At 7 p.m. on October 24, the Seongnam City Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Geum Nanse, will perform at the Seongnam Music Festival. Then, at 8:30 p.m., 3,000 drones will depict popular characters such as Pororo, Tayo and Larva in the night sky above Tancheon.

That same day, Seongnam City Hall will host a youth creative science festival, the Seongnam City-KAIST AI competition and a children's drawing contest.

On the final day, October 25, events for families will be held at Seongnam Sports Complex. Singers Lee Jae-hoon and Kim Won-jun will perform at the 2026 Music Festa, held at the auxiliary stadium. A youth drone soccer tournament, drone sports activities and a reading quiz competition will also take place. The festival will close at 8:50 p.m. with a light show featuring 1,500 drones.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin and attendees celebrate with robots after pressing a button to mark the opening of the 2026 Seongnam Tech Art Festival at Pangyo Station Plaza on the 23rd. Photo provided by Seongnam City.

Seongnam City plans to combine cutting-edge technology with music, light and a variety of hands-on activities so residents can enjoy future technologies and culture and the arts close to home.

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