'Pro-North Korea' Social Media Controversy Over Event... Turns Out It Was a Festival Bringing Together Displaced People

Criticism spreads on social media: "Pro-North Korea festival"

A festival bringing together residents of the Five Northern Provinces, including displaced people from North Korea

Organizers: "A place to share laughter and communicate"

An event where attendees could experience North Korean clothing, food and speech was held in Seoul's Nowon-gu district, prompting online criticism that it was a “pro-North Korea festival.” However, it was found to have been a cultural festival where residents of the Five Northern Provinces, including displaced people from North Korea, and local residents mingled.

A North Korea-related cultural event reportedly held in Nowon-gu, Seoul. Threads

According to Seoul Culture Portal on November 2, the “2026 Five Northern Provinces Residents’ Harmony Festival” was held the previous day at Seokgye Cultural Park in Nowon-gu, Seoul. The event was hosted and organized by the Korean Peninsula Peace Culture and Arts Promotion Association, with support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, under the slogan “Building Peace Together, Opening the Future Together.”

The Five Northern Provinces refers to Hwanghae Province, South and North Pyeongan provinces, and South and North Hamgyong provinces, which were administrative provinces as of August 15, 1945, and have yet to be recovered. People who moved south from these regions after Korea's liberation, along with their descendants, are known as residents of the Five Northern Provinces. The Committee for the Five Northern Provinces, under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, supports residents of the Five Northern Provinces, preserves and develops their local culture, and facilitates exchanges between North Korean defectors and residents of the Five Northern Provinces under the Special Measures Act on the Five Northern Provinces and Others.

The organizers described the festival as “a place where residents of the Five Northern Provinces who long for their hometowns and Seoul residents meet through culture and the arts to share laughter and communicate.” At the festival, several performing arts groups, including the Pyongyang Seolgyeong Arts Troupe, presented songs and traditional performances. Dance from Kyrgyzstan and a music performance by a Peruvian group were also featured.

Scenes from a North Korea-related cultural event reportedly held in Nowon-gu, Seoul. Threads

Controversy arose on the day of the event after a social media account posted photos from the venue alongside criticism of the festival. The account holder, identified as A, wrote, “There’s a pro-North Korea festival going on right now next to Seokgye Station,” adding that “they’re bringing women in to say, ‘Pangapseumnida, eminai-deul’” while offering experiences involving North Korean clothing, food and speech. A criticized the booths offering experiences with North Korean clothing, food and speech, calling it a “pro-North Korea festival.” The post received more than 85,000 views, and some commenters also criticized the purpose of the event.

Some online users asked, “Wasn’t Nowon-gu the organizer?” and linked the event to the controversy over a “North Korean flag missile” sculpture at a public art festival in Nowon-gu last month. However, Nowon-gu was not listed among the organizers, hosts or sponsors of this festival on Seoul Culture Portal. At the “2026 Nowon Moonlight Walk: New Moon” public art festival in Nowon-gu, which opened on October 16, a missile sculpture bearing the flags of seven countries, including North Korea, Iran and China, was installed and drew criticism. As the controversy grew, the flags on the sculpture were covered with black plastic, and the artwork was later removed.

Programs offering experiences with North Korean food and other aspects of North Korean culture are also common at unification events organized by local governments. Gangwon Province held a tasting of Injo Gogi-bap, a North Korean rice dish made with artificial meat, and activities featuring traditional games from both sides of the border at its “Unification Culture Harmony Festival” in Chuncheon on October 24. Incheon City set up a booth where visitors could try North Korean food at last year's “Unification Harmony Festival,” and the Seoul Metropolitan Government has also hosted a booth where visitors could try making North Korean food at events for North Korean Defectors’ Day.

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