Seoul's largest architecture festival to enjoy extended run

The Seoul Metropolitan Government opened the 18th Seoul Architecture Festival on Monday at the Seoul Hall of Urbanism & Architecture in Jung District, central Seoul, extending it to nearly a month from Tuesday to Oct. 11. The festival highlights Korean architecture and lets residents engage with the field, with the city aiming to draw more than 40,000 visitors this year. Its theme, Assembling Seoul: Discovering Seoul, focuses on the city’s overlapping histories, places, cultures and people.

The festival drew 19,505 visitors last year when it ran for two weeks.

This year’s edition is organized around hybrid density, rapid evolution and glocality.

The centerpiece exhibit, Discovering Seoul, was created by festival director Kook Hyoung-gul and photographer Shin Kyung-sub using recycled wooden pallets.

The grand prize in the completed-building category of the 44th Seoul Architecture Awards went to the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art in Geumcheon District, designed by architect Kim Chan-Joong of THE_SYSTEM LAB.

Published Sep 15, 2026 2:10 pm KST

A promotional poster for the 18th Seoul Architecture Festival / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

The Seoul Metropolitan Government opened the 18th Seoul Architecture Festival (SAF) on Monday, expanding the event to nearly a month, from Tuesday to Oct. 11, at the Seoul Hall of Urbanism & Architecture in Jung District, central Seoul.

The festival, which showcases Korean architecture and lets residents engage directly with the field, ran for two weeks last year and drew 19,505 visitors. The city said it hopes to draw more than 40,000 this year.

This year's edition, "Assembling Seoul: Discovering Seoul," explores how Seoul's overlapping histories, places, cultures and people come together to shape the city today. It is organized around three concepts: hybrid density, rapid evolution and glocality — a blend of "global" and "local."

The centerpiece exhibit, "Discovering Seoul," is a collaboration between festival director Kook Hyoung-gul and photographer Shin Kyung-sub, who assembled recycled wooden pallets into a maze-like structure to display Shin's photographs of the city's architecture.

The festival also displays works by the winners of the 44th Seoul Architecture Awards. The grand prize in the completed-building category went to the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art in Geumcheon District, a media-art museum designed by architect Kim Chan-Joong of THE_SYSTEM LAB. In a new student category, the top prize went to a Hanyang University student's proposal for restoring and reusing parts of Seoul's centuries-old city walls.

Other programs include forums, talks by award-winning architects, walking tours of Seoul buildings and offices, an artificial intelligence-based architectural design course and career-mentoring sessions for young architects, held jointly with the Young Architects Forum Korea. Registration is available through the city's public reservation website, with details on the festival's website and its Instagram account .

"Architecture is an important cultural asset that shapes citizens' daily lives and the look of the city," Mayor Oh Se-hoon said at Monday's opening ceremony.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

首尔市政府于周一在首尔市中心中区首尔城市与建筑中心开幕第十八届首尔建筑节，并将展期延长至10月11日，为期近一个月。该建筑节旨在展示韩国建筑，并鼓励市民参与其中，首尔市政府的目标是吸引超过4万名游客。本届建筑节的主题为“汇聚首尔：探索首尔”，聚焦于首尔交织的历史、地点、文化和人口。

去年，为期两周的该节日吸引了 19,505 名游客。

今年的版块围绕杂交密度、快速演化和全球本土化展开。

本次展览的核心展品“发现首尔”由艺术节总监 Kook Hyoung-gul 和摄影师 Shin Kyung-sub 使用回收的木托盘创作而成。

第 44 届首尔建筑奖已建成建筑类别的最高奖项颁给了位于衿川区的西首尔美术馆，该美术馆由 THE_SYSTEM LAB 的建筑师金灿重设计。

发布于2026年9月15日下午2:10（韩国标准时间）

第18届首尔建筑节宣传海报 / 图片由首尔市政府提供

首尔市政府周一在首尔市中心中区首尔城市与建筑馆举办了第18届首尔建筑节（SAF），并将活动延长至近一个月，从周二持续到10月11日。

这个展示韩国建筑并让市民直接参与其中的节日，去年持续了两周，吸引了19505名游客。市政府表示，希望今年能吸引超过4万名游客。

今年的展览主题为“首尔的构建：探索首尔”，探讨了首尔交织的历史、地点、文化和人口如何共同塑造了今天的首尔。展览围绕三个概念展开：混合密度、快速发展和“全球本土化”（即“全球”与“本土”的融合）。

本次展览的核心展品“发现首尔”是电影节总监 Kook Hyoung-gul 与摄影师 Shin Kyung-sub 合作完成的，他们将回收的木托盘组装成迷宫般的结构，用来展示 Shin 拍摄的首尔建筑照片。

本次艺术节还展出了第44届首尔建筑奖获奖作品。已建成建筑类最高奖颁给了位于衿川区的西首尔美术馆，这是一座由THE_SYSTEM LAB建筑事务所的建筑师金灿重设计的媒体艺术博物馆。在新增的学生组别中，最高奖授予了一位汉阳大学学生，他提出的方案是修复并重新利用首尔拥有数百年历史的城墙部分。

其他活动包括论坛、获奖建筑师讲座、首尔建筑和办公楼步行导览、人工智能建筑设计课程以及与韩国青年建筑师论坛联合举办的青年建筑师职业指导活动。可通过首尔市政府公共预约网站进行注册，更多详情请访问活动官网和Instagram账号。

“建筑是一项重要的文化资产，它塑造了市民的日常生活和城市的风貌，”市长吴世勋在周一的开幕式上说。

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。