Seongnam City will host the 15th Global Harmony Festival at City Hall Plaza from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Held under the theme "World Traditional Wedding Experience," the festival commemorates World Day (May 20) and aims to foster an open society of respect and communication by deepening understanding of diverse cultures and traditions.
About 5,000 people are expected to attend, including Korean and foreign residents of Seongnam, multicultural families and general citizens.
The commemorative ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on a special stage at City Hall Plaza. It will begin with a parade featuring the flags of 28 countries, followed by an opening declaration and a ceremony honoring six individuals for their contributions to foreign resident and multicultural affairs.
A special program will then feature grooms and brides dressed in traditional wedding attire from five countries—Korea, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines—who will take the stage to introduce each nation's distinctive marriage customs.
The festival will also offer a variety of performances, including a traditional Korean percussion (pungmul) show, performances by the Areumdeuri Choir, the U.S. Eighth Army Brass Band and passionate performances by African dance company TAGG.
A total of 38 exhibition, experience and food booths will be set up at City Hall Plaza.
At the exhibition booths, visitors can experience the traditional wedding cultures and costumes of five countries, including Korea, China and Vietnam.
The experience booths will offer a range of programs, including Korean police uniform experiences for children, virtual reality (VR) games, calligraphy, family health-age measurements, free legal consultations, visa consultations for foreigners and drip-bag coffee making.
Food booths will serve dishes from 10 countries, including Chinese hongshao rou (braised pork) rice bowls, Japanese yakitori (chicken skewers), Vietnamese bun cha (mixed noodles), Cambodian sach ko aang (beef skewers), Philippine lumpia (spring rolls), Ghanaian meat pies, Indian samosas (fried dumplings) and Nepalese sel roti (doughnuts).
Seongnam is currently home to approximately 32,000 foreign residents, including about 6,400 marriage immigrants. This accounts for 3.5% of the city's total population.
"A space for multicultural harmony will unfold, offering a special experience that feels like traveling the world within Seongnam," a Seongnam City official said.
