The 2026 Yukuijeon Festival runs Saturday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. near Jangtong Bridge along Cheonggyecheon, featuring traditional market stalls, vendor booths, food trucks and a new treasure-hunt event showcasing the best of the Jongno-Cheonggyecheon Tourism Special District.
Jongno-gu is set to revive the bustle of Unjongga, the grandest commercial thoroughfare of Joseon-era Hanyang, with a traditional market festival this weekend.
The district will host the 2026 Yukuijeon Festival on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. near Jangtong Bridge along Cheonggyecheon.
Subtitled "Unjongga — the road where people gather like clouds," the festival reimagines the history and traditions of the Yukuijeon, the network of licensed shops that supplied goods to the royal court and the state during the Joseon Dynasty.
The Yukuijeon comprised six major merchant guilds — dealing in silk, cotton cloth, raw cotton, paper, ramie and dried fish — that held state-granted monopoly rights and served as the commercial backbone of Hanyang.
Organized by the Jongno-Cheonggyecheon Tourism Special District Council, the festival will feature a merchant yard, food booths, hands-on activity areas and a performance stage.
Vendors from across the special district will sell jewelry, footwear, men's suits, medical devices, cosmetics, herbal medicines and health foods, personal seals, and aquarium supplies at the merchant yard. Food trucks and other food stalls will also be on hand.
Visitors can try on traditional Korean attire and make bead bracelets or mother-of-pearl keyrings. Traditional games such as ddakji (card flipping) and jegi (shuttlecock kicking) will also be available. The performance stage will feature pop, trot music and dance acts throughout the day.
A treasure-hunt event, new this year, will also be on offer. Participants who find hidden prize vouchers in the stationery and toy street in Changsin-dong can exchange them for souvenirs. Details on how to take part are available on the Jongno Sangjeomgil Instagram account.
The Jongno-Cheonggyecheon Tourism Special District stretches from the Gwanghwamun Building to the Dongmyo intersection and encompasses 12 specialized commercial zones, including the Gwancheol-dong youth street, the Jongno 3-ga jewelry district, Sewoon Electronics Arcade, Gwangjang Market and the Dongdaemun stationery and toy market.
On the day of the festival, vehicle traffic along an approximately 450-meter stretch between Samil Bridge and Gwangyo Bridge will be restricted from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Jongno-gu District Mayor Yoo Chan-jong said the district would use the festival as a platform to strengthen the commercial district's self-sufficiency and raise the profile of the special zone. "We hope you will visit Cheonggyecheon with your family, friends and loved ones to create special memories," Yoo said.
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