Hi Seoul Festival,’ the biggest-scale festival in Seoul, is held in
many places around the Seoul Plaza like Cheonggyecheon, Myeong-dong, Gwanghwamun, and the old palaces each year in May.

Since the beginning of 2003, the festival has become very popular because of its various exciting event programs prepared to show the culture, history, and arts of Seoul. This year, Hi Seoul Festival will begin with a pre-celebration on May 4th, which will proceed to the main events, held from May 5th to May 7th.

Pre-Celebration: Fireworks to Kick-off the Eve of the Festival

After a ceremony to announce the opening of the festival, on the eve of the festival, a kick-off celebration will be held at the Seoul Plaza with an evening concert promoting the Korean Wave, which will have four themes-Drama, Film, Song, and Dance. There will also be a concert that will play the original soundtracks of popular Korean TV dramas and the performances of representative Korean Wave star singers. The highlight of the evening that everyone is anticipating will be a fireworks show, a spectacular display starting from 9:30pm right after the pre-celebration, which is scheduled from 6:50 pm to 9:45pm on May 4th.

Children’s Day Event and Musical Performance

From 10 am to 6 pm on May 5th, various performances celebrating Children’s Day will be presented starting with a tight rope performance from the No.1 box-office hit in Korea, “The King and the Clown”. At the Seoul Plaza, many exciting programs are planned including a sandy area where children can skip around having fun and participate in face painting, which families can enjoy together.
Picture-taking opportunities with various animation characters will be taken everywhere around the plaza. There will also be a Hands-On Robot Zone where Korea and Japanese robots will perform from 2 pm to 4 pm on the same day as well as an international robot combat tournament. From 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, a musical show performing the highlight scenes from musical classics, Broadway musicals, and creative musicals will be presented on the Seoul Plaza’s main stage.

Global Village Events

The ‘Ancara’s Day’ events held from 1:00pm to 2:30pm on May 6th will be a nice opportunity to enjoy some Korean traditional folk performances and photo exhibition of Ancara, the capital city of Turkey, which has good relations with Korea. A traditional Ancara dance performance will be presented at the Seoul Plaza. After the invited performances of Ancara, folk performances presented by foreign residents in Seoul and invited performance troupes from sister cities as well as a costume exhibition and an international food tasting event will be held until 6pm at the Seoul Plaza, located at the back side of City Hall, and Mugyoro.
At the dance parade held from 7:30pm to 9:30pm on May 6th, a large drum performance, video highlight show, world percussion performance, dance performance, etc. will be delightfully presented. At the end of the event, all the spectators and performers can join the exciting dance party together and enjoy the delight of the festival at Seoul Plaza.

Traditional Folk Performances and Games

On May 7th more than 4,000 citizens will participate in a Korean traditional folk game called juldarigi (tug of war). This game is to pray for abundant harvest and for preventing disasters. This largest-scale tug of war in Korea will be held with various performances including a cheering performance, a ritual ceremony, and a folk exorcism performance, etc.
This tug of war event will be held for about three hours from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in front of Daehanmun in Taepyeongno. Furthermore, surrounding the Seoul Plaza from 1 pm to 6 pm on the same day, representative folk performance troupes from the 8 provinces of Korea will present various exciting folk performances.

Hi Seoul Parade

The Hi Seoul Parade held from 2 pm to 5 pm on the last day, May 7th, will march down from Jongno to the Seoul Plaza. In this grand-scale parade, a robot parade, a cospre parade, a motorcycle parade, and an in-line skating parade will be held, as well as international performing troupes and military marching bands will also be there.
In addition, the characters (mascots and players) of the national soccer team members participating in the World Cup as well as the World Cup folk parade introducing several nations, along with cheerleaders will be participating in the parade. In addition, traditional cultural performances from all over the world including the Brazilian Samba Dance and the Chinese Dragon Dance will be also shown at this exciting event.

Hi Seoul’s Closing Celebration

A large-scale concert performed by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of a Russian conductor, Sergey Gosachinsky, and by famous domestic and foreign artists will be held at 7:30pm on May 7th for 2 hours. Wishing much success for the World Cup and offering spectators a great ending to the festival, a celebration filled with not only a folk song concert and orchestra concert but also excellent performances by invited troupes from all over the world. At the end of this spectacular concert, splendid fireworks are scheduled starting from 9:30 pm lasting for fifteen minutes to celebrate the finale of the Hi Seoul Festival, 2006.

Additional Events

Along the Cheonggyecheon stream, street performances from music bands, which will be selected from the audition, will perform during the festival. A Grand Shopping Sale is scheduled from April 29th to May 10th at participating shopping centers, duty-free shops, main shopping streets, and tourist hotels.
Various events such as the Seoul’s Spring Festival of Chamber Music, the Seoul Food Lovers Festival, the Seoul Magic Festival, and the Myeongdong Dance Festival will join in and make this year’s Hi Seoul Festival much colorful and exciting than ever.

[Korea] 2007 Hi Seoul Festival's Top 10 Attractions
Into its fifth year, the Hi Seoul Festival's opening ceremony is only a week away, and the Seoul Metropolitan City has announced the festival's top 10 attractions.

Opening Ceremony 'Brilliant Fireworks & Special Performances'
April 27, 20:00~ 21:30, Specially Prepared Stage at Yeoui-do
Part 1 of the opening ceremony, entitled 'Light of Seoul, Light of the Hangang' will begin with the flying of a fire bird, whose rays light upon the parade of floating lanterns on the Han River. Part 2 will feature exciting performances by Korea’s top singers including In Sooni, Lee Hyo Ri, SG Wannabe, and Psy.

A Look Into the Past: Joseon Dynasty's Bukchon Village
April 27 ~ 29, 11:00~18:00, Bukchon Village, Jaedong Elementary School District
Experience the reproduction of Joseon Dynasty featuring common villages, noble villages, market places, a police bureau and more. Take a walk among the temporary Hanok structures, and partake in the variety of amusements. You can even experience exchanging currency into old money and actually do some bartering in the Joseon Dynasty-style.

Walking on the Hangang River's Miracle Water Bridge
April 28 ~ May 6, 10:00~ 18:00, Nodeulseom - Ichon District
You can walk barefoot on a 300-meter long bridge, submerged at a 30 cm depth, and enjoy a feeling of walking on water. Aquatic plants will be planted along the edges of the bridge to provide the experience of leisurely walking on water.

3 Days of Cultural Performances
April 28 ~ 30, 20:00~22:00, Specially Prepared Stage at Yeoui-do
Enjoy performances by Korea's representative B-boy team and Korean classical music in harmony as 'Seoul in Motion' (April 28); a non-verbal performance of light, sound, and images, combined with percussions as ‘Rendezvous of Light, Sound and Images’ (April 29); followed by the musical gala show 'Oh, Happy Day Musical' (April 30).

Reenactment of King Jeongjo’s Royal Procession
April 29, 11:00~15:00
As a major event of this year's festival, the procession is a reproduction of the famous 8-day journey of King Jeongjo to his father's royal tomb in Hwaseong in 1795 to commemorate the birthday of his mother Hegyeonggung Hong. The reenactment will be held by 930 participants and 120 horses, beginning at Changdeokgung Palace, and passing through Bosingak Belfry, Namdaemun Gate, Seoul Station, Yongsan Station, the north end of Hangang Bridge, and finishing at Nodeulseom.

The 1st World High Wire Championships in Seoul
May 3 ~ 5, 10:00~18:00, Seonyudo Island
18 master tightrope walkers from around the world will be crossing a single rope erected over Hangang River, in an attempt to break the world record of 400 meters, stretching a distance of 1 km. As the world's first high wire championship, this event will be broadcast to more than 120 countries through the world's biggest sports channel, ESPN.
Seoul’s 1st World DJ Festival
May 4, 17:00 ~ May 6, 22:00, Nanji District
As Asia’s first DJ dance festival, this event is an extended version of 'Dance Mania in Seoul', last year's most popular event attracted the largest number of young people and foreign visitors. Originally held in Myeongdong, this year the event will be held in Nanji District. The 23,140㎡ area of Nanji Campsite will also house a Festival Village to provide visitors a place to eat, sleep, and have fun.


Arisu Miracle Festival
May 5 ~ 6, 10:00~18:00, Ttukseom & Jamsil District
If you are looking for some fun in the water, this is the place to be. The main events include a Swimming Game near the Han River, rafting, windsurfing, canoeing, water pistol games, and water slides.

Seoul Historical Parade
May 6, 15:00~17:00, Jongmyo – Jongno 3(sam)-ga – Sejongno – Seoul Plaza, approximately 2.5km
The parade will feature popular historical figures from historical dramas such as Jumong and Yeongaesomun, and other significant historical figures such as King Sejong, Toegye Ihwang, Sinsaimdang, and more.

Closing Ceremony
May 6, 20:00~21:30, Seoul Plaza Specially Prepared Stage
As the festival's finale, the performance by Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is the highlight of the show. The orchestra will be performing Handel's Water Music, Strauss' Blue Danube, Choi Young Sup's Geuriun Geumgangsan, and more.

Plus!!
 'Hi Seoul Festival’s 2007' Hallyu Star Fashion Show
May 5, 18:30~21:30 Seoul Plaza Specially Prepared Stage
As a part of Hi Seoul Festival's 2007 program, the Hallyu Wave stars will be putting on a fashion show at Seoul Plaza on May 5. The collections of some of Seoul's major fashion designers will be presented, after which the stars will hold autograph signing sessions, along with the Seoul Fashion Promotional Ambassador appointment event. Additionally, the Hallyu stars' possessions and designer clothes will be auctioned off online, and the profits will be donated to help children with incurable diseases.

More Information : english.tour2korea.com