▲ This Yonhap file photo shows the Chuseok event at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- Seoul will host a variety of cultural events across the city during the four-day Chuseok holiday, offering traditional Korean music and folk games, performances and exhibitions, as well as outdoor reading programs.

 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that special Chuseok events will be held from Sept. 24-27 at municipal traditional culture venues, museums and art galleries, with some facilities staying open until 9 p.m.

 

At Unhyeongung Palace, the "Fortune-Filled Chuseok" program will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the holiday, featuring traditional games and craft activities, as well as gugak and traditional Korean dance performances.

 

The Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music will offer a full-moon game and traditional folk games. On Sept. 24, visitors can also enjoy calligraphy featuring words of good wishes, a gugak performance and a Ganggangsullae experience.

 

Starting on Chuseok Day, Sept. 25, Namsangol Hanok Village will host "Namsan Moonlight Yard" through Sept. 27.

 

The program will feature gugak performances, including tightrope walking and "Arirang," as well as quilting crafts, hanbok and traditional hair-ribbon experiences and traditional food programs. The "World Pansori Festival" will also take place during the same period.

 

On Sept. 26, the Museum of Hansung Baekje will offer free activities including samulnori, Bukcheong lion dance, jegichagi and the making of traditional kites and mother-of-pearl spinning tops.

 

The Seoul Museum of History will host gugak busking performances, traditional weaving games, folk painting and full-moon wish lantern-making activities, as well as traditional farming experiences.

 

The Seoul Museum of Urban Life will also offer a magic balloon show, fusion gugak and traditional folk games.

 

The fall performing arts festival "Seoul Autumn Festa" will continue throughout the holiday.

 

At the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater, outdoor gugak performances titled "Yeoyujak Concert" will be held Sept. 24-25. At Seoul Nori Madang on Sept. 24, visitors can watch the "World Dance Festival" featuring overseas dance troupes free of charge.

 

At night, visitors can also use Seoul's outdoor libraries.

 

"Reading Seoul Plaza," "Gwanghwamun Book Yard" and "Reading Cheonggyecheon, the Clear Stream" will operate from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Sept. 25-27. Programs will include screenings of Chuseok holiday films, "Book-Mung," a relaxing reading session with authors, and "Pajama Book-Mung," where families read books together in pajamas.

 

Major exhibitions at the Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul Museum of History and Seoul Museum of Craft Art will also be available free of charge during the holiday.

 

Art, photography, history and craft exhibitions will continue, including a retrospective marking the 110th anniversary of the birth of Yoo Young-kuk, a retrospective of photographer Martin Parr, "The Seoul Urban Planning Grand Tour" and "With the People: Protecting Together."

 

The Seoul Museum of History, Museum of Hansung Baekje, Seoul Museum of Craft Art and Unhyeongung Palace are among the facilities that will remain open until 9 p.m.

 

Operating hours, closing days and whether advance reservations or fees are required for hands-on programs vary by facility, so visitors are advised to check the Seoul Culture Portal or the websites of individual institutions before visiting.

 

Min Soo-hong, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Culture Headquarters, said, "Although the holiday is short, a wide range of events, from traditional cultural experiences to performances, exhibitions and nighttime reading, will take place across Seoul. I hope people spend a fulfilling and relaxing Chuseok by visiting nearby cultural spaces with family and friends or on their own."

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