Gallery exhibitions, performances and hands-on experiences fill the Mullae Creative Village area Friday through Sunday — the revamped successor to the Yeongdeungpo Network Arts Festival celebrates the neighborhood's distinctive cultural identity
Yeongdeungpo-gu will host the 2026 Mullae Arts Festival at the Mullae Creative Village and Yeongdeungpo Art Square from Friday through Sunday.
Mullae-dong is the cultural heart of Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul's only legally designated cultural city. Since the early 2000s, artists have flocked to vacant ironworks spaces in the neighborhood, creating a district where precision manufacturing and the arts coexist. Drawing on that history and character, the district government has reimagined the former Yeongdeungpo Network Arts Festival as a flagship event that turns the entire alley into one vast exhibition and performance venue.
This year's festival centers on three main programs: "Mullae Hyperlink," "Open Studio" and "Street Festival." The exhibition component, Mullae Hyperlink, brings together 61 artists across six galleries in Mullae-dong for a networked group show.
A range of collaborative exhibitions will also be on view, including "2026 Art Technology City," a special exhibition spotlighting small manufacturers, and a contemporary art showcase.
Open Studio offers a rare look inside artists' private creative spaces, with 10 studios spanning glass art, ceramics, metalwork and painting opening their doors to the public. Hands-on programs — including pottery wheel sessions, lampworking and silk-fan painting — let visitors try making works themselves.
The Street Festival fills the alleyways with performances and spectacles. A highlight on Sunday is the Mullae City Pop Festival, which will feature Japanese city-pop maestro Yasuyuki Horigome in a special appearance. Rounding out the program are SPARK — a media facade and DJ performance event — a large-scale outdoor installation of artist Lim Ji-bin's "Bear Balloon," and the Hae wa Dal Market, a community circular economy bazaar with about 30 vendor booths.
Visitors can also take advantage of a range of local business tie-in events. A "Mullae Human Keyring" tour challenges participants to collect keyring parts and stickers by visiting Open Studio venues and galleries, while the Mullae×Seonyu Tourism Sale Festa offers 20 to 30 percent discounts at nearby food and beverage stores. Full details on events during the festival period are available on the Yeongdeungpo Cultural Foundation website.
Yeongdeungpo-gu District Mayor Jo Yu-jin said she hopes the festival will "breathe new energy into the local business district while letting visitors soak up the vitality and inspiration of Mullae-dong," adding that the district aims to build it into Yeongdeungpo's signature cultural festival — one where local businesses and artists thrive together.
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