Seoul turns K-culture craze into hands-on tourism experience
Summary
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold 2026 Seoul Travel Week in Seoul from Nov. 14 to 20, offering international visitors hands-on programs tied to K-pop, beauty, food and traditional crafts. The week opens with promotional booths at Gocheok Sky Dome during the 2026 Melon Music Awards and continues with workshops and tours at venues including Bukchon, Amorepacific’s headquarters, O’Kitchen Studio and DDP. The city says the programs are designed to let visitors experience K-content firsthand and discover Seoul’s attractions.
Key Facts
- The opening booths on Nov. 14 and 15 will offer augmented reality experiences featuring Seoul filming locations, AI-powered photo booths and tourism quizzes.
- Bukchon Traditional Crafts Experience Center will host traditional ornament and hand-mirror making workshops on Nov. 16.
- Actor Nam Jung-woo will guide a tour of K-drama and K-pop filming locations around DDP on Nov. 18, followed by a nighttime photography tour with professional photographers.
- International visitors can register from Thursday at 2 p.m.; places are allocated first-come, first-served, and individual programs may close early.
- The final day, Nov. 20, will feature a K-pop random-play dance event and a taekwondo performance at DDP’s Eoullim Square.
A promotional poster for 2026 Seoul K-Content Week / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Seoul is inviting international visitors to do more than watch K-pop and sample Korean food, offering a week of hands-on experiences that bring them closer to the culture driving global interest in Korea.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold 2026 Seoul Travel Week from Nov. 14 to 20, with programs spanning K-pop, beauty, food and traditional crafts at major attractions, including Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Bukchon and Yongsan.
Unlike last year's large-scale events, which included parades, media facades and fan activities organized in collaboration with Netflix Korea, this year's program places greater emphasis on direct participation.
The opening weekend will feature promotional booths at Gocheok Sky Dome on Nov. 14 and 15, coinciding with the 2026 Melon Music Awards. Visitors can try augmented reality experiences featuring Seoul filming locations, take pictures at artificial intelligence-powered photo booths and participate in tourism quizzes.
The hands-on programs begin Nov. 16 with traditional ornament and hand-mirror making workshops at Bukchon Traditional Crafts Experience Center.
On Nov. 17, beauty professionals will lead Korean makeup classes at Amorepacific's headquarters.
Actor Nam Jung-woo will guide visitors through K-drama and K-pop filming locations around DDP on Nov. 18, followed by a nighttime photography tour with professional photographers.
On Nov. 19, participants can prepare and sample Korean dishes at Ottogi's O'Kitchen Studio.
The week will conclude Nov. 20 with a K-pop random-play dance event and a special taekwondo performance at DDP's Eoullim Square.
Advance registration for international visitors opens Thursday at 2 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis, with individual programs subject to early closure.
"Seoul Travel Week has been organized to allow international visitors to experience K-content firsthand and discover Seoul's diverse attractions," Seoul Tourism and Sports Bureau Director Jo Seong-ho said.
"We will expand experiential programs linking K-content with Seoul's unique tourism resources to make Seoul a city where visitors want to stay longer and return."
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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