The 2026 Geumcheon Siheung Royal Villa Cultural Festival runs Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. along Eunhaengnamu-ro in Geumcheon-gu, featuring a royal procession reenactment, nighttime performances, traditional performing arts, street art and role-card missions.
Geumcheon-gu and the Geumcheon Culture Foundation will host the 2026 Geumcheon Siheung Royal Villa Cultural Festival on Sunday along Eunhaengnamu-ro in Geumcheon-gu, from noon to 9 p.m.
Built around the theme "Yeomindongnak — the king and his people rejoice together," the festival brings to life King Jeongjo's 1795 royal procession and the Siheung Royal Villa that once stood in Geumcheon, through performances, traditional performing arts and hands-on programs.
The two centerpiece events are a joint reenactment of King Jeongjo's royal procession to his father's tomb, featuring 100 Geumcheon-gu residents, and "Siheung Royal Villa Night," an evening performance inspired by the villa.
The royal procession reenactment sets off at 5 p.m. from the intersection at the entrance of Geumcheon-gu Office and winds to the Siheung 5-dong Community Center. A royal court wind-and-percussion ensemble and 100 local residents will join the procession, with residents also taking on the roles of King Jeongjo, Lady Hyegyeonggung Hong and the royal princesses Cheongseon and Cheongyeon.
From 6 to 9 p.m., "Siheung Royal Villa Night" takes the stage. Drawing on the historical fact that King Jeongjo once stayed at the Siheung Royal Villa, the show conjures the long-vanished palace through light, music and movement.
The first featured performance, "Ya! Haenggung!!" uses lantern light and the movements of dancers to evoke the villa's pathways, corridors and courtyards, weaving together music, theater, dance and traditional performing arts to recreate the palace on stage.
The second featured performance, "Jeongjo Groove: Dansim Nanjang," showcases traditional performing arts including lion dance, flag play, plate spinning and diabolo. A communal rope game open to all audience members is also on the program.
A third performance, "Geumcheon Siheung Royal Villa Cultural Festival × Youth Mic," presented in partnership with the Korea Foundation for Local Culture, will feature a range of performances by young artists.
From noon to 5:30 p.m., the "Haenghaeng Feast" daytime program runs, with the National Traditional Arts High School and local arts organizations and artists presenting traditional music, performing arts, puppet theater and street performances.
Festivalgoers can also take part in a "role-card mission," in which participants take on the persona of a Joseon-era character and complete five challenges scattered across the festival grounds, earning a souvenir upon finishing. A personality test determines each visitor's character. Additional activities include a memorial petition photo zone, traditional games, and workshops in making sottal (a decorative pole), spinning plates and paper lanterns, and calligraphy.
The festival's overall direction falls to Im Yeong-ho, a director known for reinterpreting traditional performing arts in a contemporary idiom. He has layered modern music and audience participation onto the dynamic physicality of traditional performance, designing the event so that artists and citizens together complete a single shared "pan" — a communal performance space.
"Geumcheon lies along the route King Jeongjo traveled toward Hwaseong and holds within it the history of the Siheung Royal Villa," Geumcheon-gu District Mayor Choi Gi-chan said. "I hope residents will join us to reenact the royal procession, enjoy the performances and experiences, and discover the history and culture of Geumcheon."
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