One year out: Seoul gears up to host 2027 World Youth Day

With exactly one year to go before the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day opens next August, South Korea's Catholic community is accelerating preparations to welcome hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims and the Pope.

The organizing committee for the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day said it is shifting into full execution mode in the second half of this year, with a series of major milestones ahead: the release of the official theme song, a second international preparatory meeting and the launch of the pilgrim registration system.

First up, the committee will release the official theme song on YouTube on Monday. Chosen through a global competition in coordination with the Vatican, the song is "Confidite, Ego Vici Mundum" ("Take Courage, I Have Overcome the World"), composed by Korean composer Kim Ji-yun (baptismal name: Francis). The piece sets the event's official scripture theme and spiritual vision to music.

On the same day, the committee will officially launch the "Onsoom Campaign Global Tree-Planting Movement," a worldwide ecological initiative inviting young people to participate. Grounded in Pope Francis's encyclical "Laudato Si'," the campaign asks pilgrims from each country to plant trees at home and share the experience on an online platform. The committee said it aims to reduce carbon emissions generated during the event and to build an ecological legacy that endures beyond it.

The following weekend, Aug. 8-9, a Catholic cultural fair will be held along the stone-wall path near Deoksugung Palace. Programs include "Dasoni-gil," introducing religious orders and lay associations; a "Vocation Café" for dialogue between young people and members of religious communities; and a "Reconciliation Garden" where visitors can receive the sacrament of confession. The event will share with the public the values of faith, culture and hospitality that WYD embodies.

In mid-August, a permanent interactive WYD exhibition — titled "You're Here? Let's Go! — The Pilgrimage Has Already Begun" — will open at Gallery 1898 Plaza at Myeongdong Cathedral.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and the organizing committee will host the Second International Preparatory Meeting at Nest Hotel on Yeongjongdo, Incheon, Sept. 14-17. Following the first such meeting held in Rome in May 2024, the gathering will bring about 250 youth ministry coordinators from Catholic bishops' conferences around the world to Korea to share updates on preparations and strengthen international cooperation. A "K-Culture Night" showcasing Korean culture and a "DID EXPO" introducing the diocesan-level events planned for 2027 will also be held alongside the meeting.

In October, the committee plans to open the official registration system for pilgrims. Participants will choose from 11 official pilgrim packages based on their intended schedule and program preferences. Packages cover accommodation, meals, transportation, insurance and a pilgrim kit, and are structured around three participation formats: full week (Type A), weekend (Type B), and overnight prayer vigil and closing Mass (Type C). Suggested donation amounts range from $80 to $310 depending on the package.

The committee has built its accommodation plan around homestays, with parish communities and families hosting pilgrims in their homes. Individual parishes are currently recruiting host families from among their congregations. Where homestays alone cannot provide sufficient capacity, the committee is also reviewing the use of public facilities within Seoul as supplementary lodging. Venue arrangements for the various cultural programs and festivals planned during the event are being coordinated with relevant authorities.

To ensure a safe event, the committee is establishing a Crisis Management Center within its own structure to provide one-stop oversight of all safety and medical operations. It is also recruiting volunteers, with a target of 30,000 for the main event period.

The committee is building close cooperation with the National Assembly's WYD Promotion Group and the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Special Committee for Support of the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day, jointly advancing preparations in areas including transportation, safety, medical services and administration.

Archbishop Chung Soon-taick, chair of the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day organizing committee, said the time already spent had been about laying the groundwork, and that the year ahead would be about completing preparations to welcome young people from around the world. "We will do our utmost to make World Youth Day a festival that delivers hope to young people and showcases the warm hospitality and solidarity of Korea and Seoul," he said.

WYD is the Catholic Church's largest international gathering, bringing together the Pope and young people from across the globe. Next year's Seoul edition will be only the second WYD held in Asia and the first ever in a non-Christian-majority country. Young participants will first attend diocesan-level events in 15 dioceses outside Seoul from July 29 to Aug. 2, 2027, before traveling to the capital for the main event with the Pope.