10-Lane Banpo-daero Transforms Into a Giant Music Stage — 2026 Seoripul Music Festival Opens This Weekend!

For just two days a year, Banpo-daero in Seoul's Seocho-gu — normally a busy arterial road — transforms into a sprawling festival ground filled with music and art.

Seocho-gu will host the 2026 Seoripul Music Festival Saturday and Sunday along a roughly 900-meter stretch of Banpo-daero between Seocho Station and the Seocho 3-dong intersection.

Organized by Seocho-gu and run by the Seocho Cultural Foundation, the Seoripul Music Festival has drawn a cumulative audience of about 1.34 million since its debut in 2015, establishing itself as one of Seoul's signature autumn events.

This year's theme is "Seocho is the Music." Performances spanning classical, jazz, gugak and K-pop, along with citizen participation and hands-on programs, will unfold across Banpo-daero throughout the two days.

The festival opens with an eve-of-festival gala Friday at Seoul Arts Center's Music Plaza, combining a live performance by the Seocho Symphony Orchestra under conductor Bae Jong-hun with a fashion performance by Esteem. It marks the first time a live orchestral concert and a fashion show have been held together at Seoul Arts Center's Music Plaza.

On Saturday, an opening parade kicks off at 1 p.m., featuring performance groups, a brass band, giant balloon art and a cheerleading team.

From 1:30 p.m., all ten lanes of Banpo-daero — roughly 2,610 square meters of road — become a giant canvas for "The World's Biggest Sketchbook," where visitors can draw freely on the asphalt using some 100,000 colored chalk sticks.

At 3:30 p.m., the Seoripul Choral Festival brings together singers of all ages, from children to seniors. Five choirs selected through an open call will perform alongside the Seocho District Women's Choir and the Seoul High School OB Choir Leadertafel Seoul. Bass-baritone Gil Byeong-min will perform and serve as emcee.

The day's highlight, "Classical Night," begins at 6:30 p.m.

Performers include the Seocho Symphony Orchestra, singer Son Tae-jin, soprano Hwang Su-mi, mezzo-soprano Bang Sin-je, tenor Kim Yo-han, baritone Kim Ji-hun and the Yang Seung-hee Gayageum Ensemble.

A special guest appearance comes from a string quartet drawn from members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, one of the world's top orchestras. Sylvain Leclerc, a trumpet player from Paris's 15th arrondissement — a sister city of Seocho-gu — will also take the stage.

Following the classical program, "Seoripul Jazz Night" fills the autumn evening with jazz, featuring violinist Danny Koo, jazz pianist Jo Yun-seong and bandoneonist Ko Sang-ji.

The second day, Sunday, opens at 7 a.m. with "Seoripul Good Morning Yoga," led by popular YouTuber Yoga Boy on the car-free Banpo-daero.

At 11 a.m., the children's classical concert "Flying Symphony" takes the stage, with the Ditto Orchestra under conductor Lee Byeong-uk and the Berioza Piano Duo performing Saint-Saëns' "The Carnival of the Animals" and Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker," accompanied by 3D animation.

From noon, "Seoripul Local Live" features performances by Baekseok Arts University, the Shinjung Orchestra, the Hyundai Motor Group Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Gugak Center Creative Orchestra and the Korea National University of Arts, among others.

"K-pop Night" from 7 p.m. brings Crying Nut, Jaurim and Lee Seung-yoon to the stage to close the festival on a high note, followed by a fireworks display over Banpo-daero.

New this year is the "41st Stage" — after the 40 scheduled performances conclude, a resident participation group will join environmental workers to clean up the festival site, turning the act of restoring the street to everyday life into the festival's final scene.

The festival grounds will also host a mission-style event in collaboration with the global character franchise "Where's Wally?", featuring an oversized Wally sculpture. Additional programs include the Seoripul Music Library Book Flow, the Seoripul Art Salon and the Seoripul Musical Instrument Street Festival.

Online reservations for "Classical Night," "K-pop Night" and "Seoripul Kids Classic" open Tuesday. Phone bookings for seniors 80 and older and others with limited digital access will be available Tuesday through Friday.

The district will deploy more than 1,300 safety personnel per day during the event. An AI festival guide accessible via QR code will provide information on performances, safety, medical services and lost-child assistance.

To accommodate setup and the event itself, the 900-meter stretch of Banpo-daero between Seocho Station and the Seocho 3-dong intersection will be closed to traffic for 52 hours — from midnight Saturday through 4 a.m. Monday.

"Through new collaborations with world-class musicians, a global character franchise and Seoul Arts Center, we have made this music festival more compelling than ever," District Mayor Jeon said. "I hope families, friends and neighbors will come out to Banpo-daero, enjoy music and art to the fullest, and create special autumn memories together."