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  Royal night revived through open-air concert at Changdeok palace SEOUL, May 03 (AJP) -The glow of lanterns and the sound of centuries-old melodies filled Changdeokgung as a 100-member traditional Korean music ensemble transformed the royal palace into an open-air nighttime stage during a rare spring performance in central Seoul. Held from May 1 to 3 at Injeongjeon Hall, the palace’s main throne hall, the “2026 Royal Palace Concert: Music of Great Peace” invited visitors to step into a royal setting once reserved for kings, co May 4, 2026
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  No Children's Day without LEGO: Gwanghwamun turns into brick playground SEOUL, May 04 (AJP) -For Koreans, Children’s Day and LEGO are nearly inseparable — a pairing as familiar as balloons, picnic mats and spring sunshine. At Gwanghwamun Square over the weekend, that bond unfolded on a citywide scale as the “2026 Gwanghwamun Family Festival – Let’s Play Gwanghwamun” transformed the heart of Seoul into a sprawling outdoor LEGO playground packed with families, strollers and towering brick creations. Organized with May 4, 2026
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  Visitors taste bitter exile at Gyeongbokgung royal kitchen SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Visitors gather at the Saenggwabang kitchen inside Gyeongbokgung Palace on April 30 to participate in a program exploring the life of Danjong, the sixth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty. The event, titled "Yuju: Spring in the Saenggwabang," runs from April 27 to May 3. This historical program has gained significant attention following the massive success of the film The King's Warden. The movie, which depicts the tragic April 30, 2026
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  Seoul Photo Festival reimagines home after 5-year hiatus SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) -Photography has become second nature in everyday life — instantly shared, endlessly consumed — yet its deeper resonance often remains elusive. It brings us face to face with moments we have never lived, lives we have never known, making the medium feel at once intimate and distant. Against this backdrop, a festival that returns to the essence of photography has come back after a five-year pause. The Seoul Photo Festival, themed “Come Bac April 29, 2026
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  The young are not resting, but unfound: Job fair in Seoul SEOUL, April 28 (AJP)-The so-called "resting" young people under 30 numbered 402,000, and the unemployment rate of the young cohort hit 7.4 percent as of March even as the overall employment rate neared 70 percent in South Korea. The spring has failed to arrive for the young jobseekers. The government and business groups opened the 2026 Korea Win-Win Job Fair at aT Center in southern Seoul on Tuesday, hoping to provide some reprieve. The two-day event is hosted Min April 28, 2026
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  From stillness to spectacle: spring festivals at palaces in Seoul SEOUL, April 27 (AJP) -Once defined by stillness, Seoul’s royal palaces are learning how to absorb noise and hordes of outsiders. At Gyeongbokgung Palace, the gravel crunches not under a lone guard’s step but beneath waves of visitors — cameras raised, hanbok skirts sweeping past sneakers, languages overlapping in the spring air. What was once a space of restraint now pulses with movement. The 2026 Spring Royal Culture Festival has made that shift unmistaka April 28, 2026
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  Boy band NEXZ showcase new album in Seoul SEOUL, April 27 (AJP) - Boy band NEXZ, made up mostly of Japanese-born members, held an event in Yongsan, Seoul on Monday to promote their new album. According to their management agency JYP Entertainment, "Mmchk," an onomatopoeic word coined to reflect the rhythmic sound of their music, is the septet's second album, following their debut in May 2024 after being formed through a global audition. The album contains three tracks, which are set to be available on major April 27, 2026
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  Admiral Yi still towers over Seoul - in stone and in spirit SEOUL, April 27 (AJP) -The bronze figure of Yi Sun-sin stands immovable over Gwanghwamun, but his presence is anything but static. Centuries after his death, the admiral remains one of South Korea’s most revered figures — often mentioned alongside Sejong the Great — his legacy woven into daily life, civic pride and national memory. That legacy came alive over the weekend as Seoul citizens turned out in force for the 2026 Yi Sun-sin Festival. Seoul& April 27, 2026
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  Sea of colorful bloom at Goyang flower festival SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) -Spring arrives in full and assorted colors at Ilsan Lake Park as the 2026 Goyang International Flower Festival opens, drawing visitors into a vast landscape of blooms just northwest of Seoul. Under the theme “Flowers Color Time,” the 17-day festival unfolds across a 250,000-square-meter venue, where more than 100 million flowers shape gardens, installations and winding paths along the lakeside. Large-sc April 25, 2026
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  A ceiling of wishes: Jogyesa fills with lantern light ahead of Buddha's Birthday SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) -At Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul, the sky has begun to lower — not with clouds, but with color. A month ahead of Buddha's Birthday on May 24, preparations are in full swing. Lanterns gather overhead in long, patient rows, stretching across the temple grounds like a suspended tapestry. From a distance, they resemble a soft ceiling; up close, each one carries a name, a wish, a quiet intention. Near the entrance, a modest registr April 24, 2026