The two-day event runs Saturday through Sunday at Acleta Gwangju's Yangnim Square, with Onuri gift voucher promotions across six alley shopping districts.
A fall festival featuring food, cultural performances and craft experiences prepared by local merchants will be held in Yangnim-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju.
The 4th Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Autumn Food Night Festival will run for two days — Saturday through Sunday — at the Acleta commercial plaza in Yangnim-dong and the surrounding alley shopping districts of Penguin Village.
The event is part of the Korea Grand Festival, a government initiative organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and other ministries. The Gwangju-South Jeolla Province-Jeju regional headquarters of the Small Enterprise and Market Service, along with merchants from alley shopping districts in Yangnim-dong, will participate to promote local consumption and revitalize the area's commercial district.
Particularly notable is that six alley shopping districts in Yangnim-dong have formed a consortium and will jointly participate in a shared Onuri gift voucher consumer promotion campaign.
The Nam-gu Yangnim-dong Community Service Center, the Penguin Village Craft Center, the Penguin Village Hub Arts Travel Center and the Beodeulsup Youth Creative Studio will serve as partner organizations, bringing together the local commercial district and cultural arts spaces.
The Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Food Night Festival is a merchant-led alley festival that local shopkeepers have planned, operated and grown themselves.
Held consistently since its inaugural event in 2025, the festival has become an opportunity to introduce visitors to local restaurants and shops in Yangnim-dong.
About 10 businesses took part in last year's first event, drawing roughly 1,000 visitors. The second event, held this past May, saw participation expand to 15 businesses and attendance grow to about 1,300 visitors.
The third event, held Oct. 9 and 10, broadened the festival's content by combining restaurants, craft vendors and cultural performances.
Building on that experience, the fourth edition has expanded its craft experiences, performances and Onuri gift voucher events, with programming designed to keep visitors in Yangnim-dong from afternoon through late evening.
At the heart of the festival is a diverse spread of food prepared directly by local Yangnim-dong restaurants.
Each restaurant will showcase dishes that reflect its own character and style, giving visitors a chance to sample the full range of Yangnim-dong flavors in one place.
Live busking performances will accompany cold draft beer at the venue. Festival lighting, music and food will combine to offer visitors a memorable autumn evening.
In keeping with the Halloween season, pumpkin decorations and autumn-themed photo spots will be set up, making the festival a destination for families, couples and friends alike.
Food stalls and evening performance programs will run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Craft experience programs and craft sales booths will open from 1 p.m.
Visitors can try making ceramic keyrings, ceramic wind chimes, pouches and leather wallets, as well as penguin dolls and glass wind chimes.
Face painting will also be available to add to the Halloween atmosphere, offering a special treat for children and families.
A craft sales booth run by young artists from the Beodeulsup Youth Creative Studio will feature handmade works in ceramics, leather, fabric and more.
Craft experience and sales programs will run from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., though experiences may close early once materials run out.
Another defining feature of this year's event is cooperation among Yangnim-dong's alley shopping districts.
Six alley shopping districts in Yangnim-dong have formed a consortium and agreed to jointly participate in a shared consumer promotion campaign using Onuri gift vouchers.
The aim is to spread visitor foot traffic across the entire Yangnim-dong commercial area, rather than concentrating spending at a single venue or individual shop.
Visitors who purchase goods at Onuri gift voucher-affiliated stores in Yangnim-dong during the festival can receive various benefits by presenting a purchase receipt or showing their transaction history in the Onuri gift voucher app.
The main programs are a free craft experience and a roulette event.
Visitors who complete a purchase verification will be offered one free session from among five designated craft experiences, available on a first-come, first-served basis — limited to 70 people per day.
At the event booth at the Acleta venue, visitors who present a receipt from an Onuri gift voucher-affiliated store can spin a roulette wheel for a chance to win various prizes.
The initiative is designed to encourage visitors to patronize shops and restaurants throughout Yangnim-dong and spread the festival's economic benefits across the alley shopping districts as a whole.
Local administrative bodies, cultural arts spaces and young creators are all collaborating on the event.
The Nam-gu Yangnim-dong Community Service Center, the Penguin Village Craft Center, the Penguin Village Hub Arts Travel Center and the Beodeulsup Youth Creative Studio will participate as partner organizations, helping connect the area's cultural resources with its commercial district.
Yangnim-dong is one of Gwangju's signature tourist destinations, where modern historical and cultural heritage coexists with arts spaces, distinctive restaurants and cafes.
Local merchants hope the food night festival will translate tourist visits into actual spending in the neighborhood and encourage visitors to linger longer in Yangnim-dong.
"We hope visitors to Yangnim-dong will enjoy delicious food and a variety of experiences while naturally stopping in at the surrounding shops," said Lee Dong-hui, chair of the Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Merchants' Association. "Going forward, we will continue working together with local merchants and organizations to develop this into a sustainable alley festival."
A public parking lot — the Yangnim Historic Cultural Village No. 1 Public Parking Lot — is located near the venue, about a five-minute walk away.
Inquiries about the event can be directed to the Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Merchants' Association on Instagram (@yangnim_penguin) or to the Onuri gift voucher information booth at the venue.
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