The festival runs Saturday and Sunday in Chinatown, featuring a live cooking show by Culinary Class Wars chef Park Eun-young, a jjajang road, and concerts by Jang Min-ho, Heo Gak and others
A festival blending food and cultural performances will be held in Incheon, the birthplace of jjajangmyeon — South Korea's beloved soul food.
The Incheon Tourism Organization will host the 2026 Incheon Jjajangmyeon Festival from Saturday to Sunday in the Hangmidan-gil, Sangsang Platform and Chinatown areas.
The two-day event runs from afternoon tastings and hands-on programs through evening music concerts and candlelight performances.
The festival's centerpiece, "Incheon Jjajang Road," will bring together well-known Chinese restaurants representing Chinatown.
A jjajangmyeon tasting session offering 2,000 bowls will be held at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day of the festival.
On Saturday at 4 p.m., chef Park Eun-young of the popular cooking competition show Culinary Class Wars will stage a live Chinese cooking demonstration.
The concert lineup is equally strong. A live concert featuring singers Jang Min-ho and Yukjungwan Band on Saturday, and Heo Gak and Kim Neuk Band on Sunday, will take the stage at a special outdoor venue on Hangmidan-gil starting at 6:30 p.m.
At 8 p.m. Saturday, the Sangsang Platform will host "Candlelight," a classical music concert illuminated by some 3,500 LED candles. Traditional lion and dragon dance parades will also take place six times throughout the festival grounds over the two days.
Family-friendly activities will round out the program. A hand-pulled noodle competition called "Find the Noodle King!" will be held daily at 2 p.m., alongside clay jjajangmyeon crafting, a decibel challenge and other participatory programs at the Sangsang Platform area.
The first 300 visitors who collect stamps at major Chinatown landmarks using the "Incheon e-ji" app will receive a jjajangmyeon meal kit.
Academic and exhibition events are also on the program. A special exhibition tracing the history and evolution of jjajangmyeon will be on display, and an expert seminar on the theme of "The Globalization of Jjajangmyeon as Global K-Food" will be held.
Yang Jong-jip, a professor at the Culinary Institute of America, will present at the seminar, sharing insights on the cultural value of jjajangmyeon and strategies for its global spread.
"Incheon is a symbolic city where the history and culture of jjajangmyeon began," said Yoo Ji-sang, president of the Incheon Tourism Organization. "Through this festival combining gastronomy and culture, we will elevate Incheon's brand value as a global culinary city and inject vitality into the local economy."
To ensure safe event operations, vehicle traffic on a section of Hangmidan-gil — between Incheon Station intersection and the Korea-China Cultural Center roundabout — will be fully restricted from Thursday through Monday.
Full schedules are available on the Incheon Tourism Organization's website and the festival's official social media channels.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
