Korea launches autumn performing-arts campaign spanning 1,700 shows

The culture ministry said Thursday it will run a two-month nationwide performing-arts campaign with the Arts Management Support Center, pulling roughly 1,700 performances across the country into a single promotional push from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30.

Under the banner "Korea Is Performing 2026," the campaign links the ministry and the support center with metropolitan and provincial culture foundations in 16 regions.

The anchor event is the Seoul International Performing Arts Festival, which runs from Oct. 8 to 25 at the National Theater of Korea, the Quad in Daehangno and the Arko and Daehangno arts theaters. Its program covers theater, dance, music and interdisciplinary work, with 20 invited overseas productions joined by Korean and collaborative pieces.

The Seoul Art Market follows from Oct. 13 to 16 at the National Theater of Korea and the Arko and Daehangno arts theaters. It will present nine showcase performances, alongside booth exhibitions and one-on-one business meetings.

A third program, the Re:Bound Festival, brings work created in the regions to Seoul. From Oct. 16 to Nov. 14, pieces by 20 companies chosen as 2026 regional representative arts groups will be staged at the Jayu Theater of the Seoul Arts Center and at major venues run by district culture foundations.

Performance information is being gathered on the campaign's official website and on its Instagram account. The site also offers recommendations sorted by genre, companion and region, along with a review-sharing event.

Organizers are also planning promotional events that use outdoor spaces at performance venues and tie theaters to nearby restaurants.

The ministry has been distributing a second round of performance discount vouchers since Sept. 1 through five online booking platforms — Naver Booking, NOL, Yes24, Time Ticket and Ticketlink — on a first-come, first-served basis. An additional two vouchers per person, restricted to venues outside the Seoul metropolitan area, are available through four of those platforms, and regional culture halls are offering on-site discounts to people aged 55 and over, people with disabilities, low-income households, farmers and fishers, and school groups.

A ministry policy official said the campaign was prepared so that more people could find performance information easily and head to venues, noting that October and November bring a heavier schedule of shows and new works. "I hope that through this campaign, people will enjoy the performing arts more closely in their daily lives and the performing arts market will be revitalized," the official said.