Hanyang Doseong (Seoul City Wall) Art and Culture Festival 2020 & Review (2019)
Seoul has been the capital of Korea for 600 + years. It’s changed a lot in both cultural and artistic ways over these years, but there’s one thing Seoul is proud to keep it the way it was: its protector – Seoul City Wall also known as Hanyang Doseong.
During the Joseon Dynasty, the wall was constructed in 1396 to defend Seoul from outside invasion and since then the wall has stood securely to defend the area. The wall extends around Seoul city for 18.6 kilometers along with the ranges of four prominent mountains-Bukaksan, Naksan, Namsan and Inwangsan.
Seoul City Wall Art and Culture Festival
Since, Seoul City Wall is one of the most famous landmarks of Korea, every year the Seoul City hosts “Hanyang Doseong Cultural Festival” or ???????. This festival is to celebrate the different colors of the Autumn festival providing people the opportunity to know more about this landmark’s history, enjoy various shows happening around the area, promote tourism, and promote a healthy lifestyle by suggesting them to hike the mountains that this city wall surrounds.
Unfortunately due to the COVID-19, although the festival will still be held this year, it will be a little bit different than previous years following the social distancing guidelines set by the government. Before talking more about the festival, let me first tell you about the history of the Hanyang Doseong.
History of Seoul City Wall:
One of the coolest features about this wall is that Korean history is engraved in Hayang and the reason being, the structure of the wall has been developed and renovated by more than 3 kingdoms. Half in the winter and half in the summer of 1394, the real construction work lasted for around 100 days. Around 197,400 people were mobilized to create the wall which was split into 97 sections of around 600 feet. The wall went through a major restoration in 1422 and 1704.
During the Japanese colonial period, a major portion of the wall was destroyed, and recently in 2012 Seoul City Government started a mega project towards the restoration of the wall and in 2013, it was added to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites.
By 2014, approximately 70 percent (12.8 km) of the entire Hanyangdoseong was left intact. Sukjeongmun, Gwanghuimun, and Hyehwamun undertook restoration work, while Gwanghuimun and Hyehwamun had to be located near their original positions.
Review of Seoul City Wall Art and Culture Festival 2019
2019 was the year of the 7th Seoul City Wall Art and Culture Festival that was attended by thousands of locals and foreigners. Last year the festival took place on 12th-13th October.
Numerous various services and events were set up during the festival, such as 600 years celebrations, art stalls and photo exhibits. And there were also art vendors selling homemade pieces and market booths with a selection of food items to purchase.
Here are a few of the major highlights of the last year’s festival.
1 – 600 Years in Seoul
2 – A Trip to History
3 – Welcome to Hanyang City
4 – Photo Exhibition
5 – Stories of Hanyang City
Seoul City Wall Art and Culture Festival 2020
Duration: 9th – 10th October 2020
Venue: Around the Hanyang Doseong City Wall (Organizers: Seoul City Wall Museum)
This year, due to the pandemic, although the format of the festival has been changed compared to last year, still there are various events (both online and offline) where youngsters and citizens of every age can participate and know more about this cultural heritage.
This year, many events will also be taking place online and foreigners from around the world can also enjoy the beauty of this majestic structure build 600 years ago.
Official Website: http://www.hanyangdoseong.com/
If you go to the official website of the Seoul City Wall Art and Culture Festival, you will find out there are 3 kinds of programs taking place this time:
1 – ?? ???? ( Sunseong Program)
This program again has 3 parts both online and offline.
i) The first one is based on traditional believes where you can participate in a walk around the wall for a wish to overcome the COVID-19.
ii) The second one is a program where you go to the city wall, participate in various missions, get stamps, take pictures with the famous tiger and get rewards/goodies.
iii) This program is for those people who don’t want to go to the city wall and want to enjoy the beauty of this landmark from their home. They can do that by downloading the City Wall app and participating in various online events.
2 – ?? ???? (Incidental Programs)
Again this program has 3 different sub parts where each program has different dates.
i) Online Golden Bell Program
Elementary school kids can participate in this quiz program about the City Wall and win prizes.
ii) Online Singing Competition
iii) Photo Exhibition (Online)
People who don’t want to go to the wall during the festival can also have the opportunity of seeing the photo exhibition online that displays the photos of the history of Hanyang Doseong.
3 – ?? ???? (Performances and Events)
Due to the pandemic, social distancing guidelines have to be followed. That’s why the organizers decided to have an online concert where anyone can watch different performances.
Moreover, there is even a program about the fortress village that plays an important role in preserving the heritage value of Hanyang City. People will get an opportunity to listen to the story of a fortress village located inside and outside of Hanyang City.
You can find out more information about these programs from the official website of Hanyang Doseong i.e http://www.hanyangdoseong.com/index.php
So what’s your plans in October? How about hiking the Seoul’s guardian, the famous Hanyang Doseong – Seoul City Wall and enjoy various programs of this art and culture festival. Let me know if you also fall in love with this beauty ?
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