Seoul to hold friendship festival to link foreign, local residents through beauty, culture

Seoul will host the second Better Together Seoul Culture & Wellness Festival at Oullim Square of Dongdaemun Design Plaza on Friday. The event will bring local and foreign residents together through Korean beauty, wellness, lifestyle and cultural activities. Programs include health checks, cultural workshops, international booths, performances and exercise counseling. About 30 volunteer interpreters will assist participants who are not fluent in Korean.

The festival will run from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Hangeul Day, a national holiday.

Embassies from Colombia, Vietnam and Uzbekistan, a Spanish cultural center and international student associations will participate.

The world culture zone will present traditions from Vietnam, Spain, Uzbekistan, India, Peru and the Philippines.

Participants aged 18 or older will receive 1,000 points on Seoul’s Wrist Doctor 9988 health app.

As of 2024, Seoul had roughly 250,000 registered foreign residents and welcomed more than 10 million international tourists annually.

Published Oct 6, 2026 12:53 pm KST

Updated Oct 6, 2026 1:45 pm KST

Volunteers and families participate in a multicultural children’s festival in Seoul, May 10, 2025. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Seoul will host a cultural festival on Friday, bringing together local and foreign residents to experience Korean beauty, wellness and lifestyle programs, city officials said Tuesday.

The second Better Together Seoul Culture & Wellness Festival will run from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Oullim Square of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a landmark in central Seoul. Friday is Hangeul Day, a national holiday.

The event is hosted by the Seoul Foreign Resident Center and supported by the city. The embassies of Colombia, Vietnam and Uzbekistan and a Spanish cultural center plan to attend, while international student associations will help run booths.

A K-beauty and health zone will offer artificial intelligence skin analysis, personal color diagnosis and face painting, along with blood pressure and blood sugar checks, a virtual reality safety program and CPR training.

A K-culture zone will feature activities such as making key rings shaped like the "gat," a traditional Korean horsehair hat, as well as calligraphy and folk games including "jegichagi," in which players keep a shuttlecock aloft with their feet, and "tuho," or arrow tossing.

A world culture zone will introduce the traditions of six countries: Vietnam, Spain, Uzbekistan, India, Peru and the Philippines.

New this year is a mobile fitness test that measures muscle strength and flexibility, followed by exercise counseling. Participants aged 18 or older will receive 1,000 points on Wrist Doctor 9988, the city's health app that rewards users for walking. A taekwondo show combining demonstrations of the martial art. A stage performance has also been added.

About 30 volunteer interpreters will assist foreign residents who are not fluent in Korean and help run the booths.

Stage programs include an opening ceremony, music performances and a prize drawing.

As of 2024, Seoul is home to roughly 250,000 registered foreign residents and welcomes over 10 million international tourists annually as part of Korea's broader push to expand its global tourism footprint.

A city official said the programs were designed to let residents experience one another's cultures directly rather than simply learn about them.

"Following last year's event, we’ve designed diverse, hands-on programs this year that allow people to truly experience different cultures firsthand rather than just observe them," said Kim Myeong-joo, head of global urban policy for Seoul. "Through the shared mediums of health and culture, we hope this serves as a catalyst to break down barriers of nationality and language, helping local and foreign residents forge deeper connections."

Details are available at global.seoul.go.kr.

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

首尔将于周五在东大门设计广场的Oullim广场举办第二届“携手共进首尔文化健康节”。本次活动旨在通过韩国美容、健康、生活方式和文化活动，促进本地居民和外国居民之间的交流互动。活动内容包括健康检查、文化工作坊、国际展位、表演和运动指导。约30名志愿者翻译将为不精通韩语的参与者提供帮助。

该节日将于韩国国庆日（韩文日）当天下午 1:30 至 5:00 举行。

哥伦比亚、越南和乌兹别克斯坦大使馆、西班牙文化中心和国际学生协会将参加。

世界文化区将展示来自越南、西班牙、乌兹别克斯坦、印度、秘鲁和菲律宾的传统文化。

18 岁及以上的参与者将在首尔的 Wrist Doctor 9988 健康应用程序上获得 1000 积分。

截至 2024 年，首尔约有 25 万名登记在册的外国居民，每年接待超过 1000 万国际游客。

发布于2026年10月6日下午12:53（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月6日下午1:45（韩国标准时间）

2025年5月10日，志愿者和孩子们的家庭在首尔参加多元文化儿童节。图片由首尔市政府提供。

首尔市政府官员周二表示，首尔将于周五举办文化节，届时将汇聚本地居民和外国居民，共同体验韩国的美容、健康和生活方式项目。

第二届“携手共进首尔文化健康节”将于下午1:30至5:00在首尔市中心地标性建筑东大门设计广场的Oullim广场举行。周五是韩国的国庆日——韩文日。

本次活动由首尔外国人中心主办，并得到首尔市政府的支持。哥伦比亚、越南和乌兹别克斯坦大使馆以及一家西班牙文化中心计划出席，国际学生社团也将协助设立展位。

韩式美容和健康专区将提供人工智能皮肤分析、个人色彩诊断和面部彩绘，以及血压和血糖检查、虚拟现实安全程序和心肺复苏培训。

韩国文化区将举办各种活动，例如制作形似韩国传统马鬃帽“gat”的钥匙扣，以及书法和民间游戏，包括“jegichagi”（玩家用脚将羽毛球托在空中）和“tuho”（投箭）。

世界文化区将介绍六个国家的传统：越南、西班牙、乌兹别克斯坦、印度、秘鲁和菲律宾。

今年新增了一项移动健身测试，可测量肌肉力量和柔韧性，随后提供运动指导。18岁及以上的参与者将在Wrist Doctor 9988（香港健康应用程序，鼓励用户步行）上获得1000积分。此外，活动还新增了跆拳道表演，包括武术展示和舞台演出。

约有 30 名志愿者翻译将协助不精通韩语的外国居民，并协助运营翻译亭。

舞台节目包括开幕式、音乐表演和抽奖活动。

截至 2024 年，首尔拥有约 25 万名登记在册的外国居民，每年接待超过 1000 万国际游客，这是韩国扩大其全球旅游版图的更广泛努力的一部分。

一位市政府官员表示，这些项目的目的是让居民直接体验彼此的文化，而不仅仅是了解它们。

“继去年的活动之后，我们今年设计了丰富多彩的实践项目，让人们能够真正亲身体验不同的文化，而不仅仅是旁观，”首尔全球城市政策负责人金明珠表示。“我们希望通过健康和文化这两个共同的媒介，打破国籍和语言的障碍，帮助本地居民和外国居民建立更深层次的联系。”

详情请访问 global.seoul.go.kr。

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。