The Welcome Daehakro Festival, a five-week-long arts and culture jamboree in Seoul’s Daehakro neighbourhood, has returned for its ninth edition, showcasing performances that prove, once again, that Korean culture is more than just K-pop.
Hosted by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organised by the Korea Tourism Organisation, this year’s festival – which runs until November 2 – will feature close to 50 stage productions including musicals, non-verbal performances, plays and traditional arts at discounted prices.
There are also free outdoor performances at locations across Seoul, including Marronnier Park and the open-air stage at Myeongdong Theatre.
To cater for overseas visitors who do not speak Korean, this year’s festival has introduced the rental of smart glasses that can produce real-time surtitles in multiple languages. Normally, these glasses cost around 50,000 to 60,000 won (US$35-US$42) to rent, but for the entire month of October, international visitors can receive discounts of up to 80 per cent through Smart Theatre.
Musicals such as Finding Mr. Destiny and Vamp x Hunter, as well as plays like Beautiful Life, are among the shows that offer virtual surtitles.
Meanwhile, shows like Nanta – a comic cooking performance that has toured more than 60 countries – and The Painters Season 2, in which performers create live art while dancing to music, can be understood and appreciated without the need for surtitles.