Itaewon Global Village Festival

Yes, the food in Itaewon is amazing and the Itaewon Global Village Festival is a good time to check out the varieties of food offerings that have popped up in this neighborhood over the years. But many of us, especially longtimers to Seoul, forget that the festival’s not just about food (and frankly, the lines are long and the seats are few for food you can get any day of the week), it’s the one time when you get to see the melting pot of a neighborhood at its busiest. To accompany the rich smells of food, there’ll also be a slew of performances and concerts. For instance, there’ll be a Taekwondo kick-off ceremony to get things started on both Saturday and Sunday at 11am. Featuring bands like Noel, Hello Venus, Fiestar and High4, a “Global Village Happiness Sharing Concert” will take place on Saturday from 7pm–10pm and an all day DJing festival will take place from 2pm–11pm. Despite the crowds and lines, people drink in the diversity, which is nice to see. It almost makes you want to brave the lines for the lamb kebabs.