Recruiting International Students in Seoul for a Night Nakseongdae Tour: Festival and Stargazing in One Outing

The Seoul Global Center for International Students is recruiting international students residing in Seoul for its “Exploring Every Corner of Seoul — Nakseongdae” program. The event will take place on October 16 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. around Nakseongdae Park and the observatory, and participation is free.

Applications are open from September 22 through October 6. The program will be conducted in Korean and English, and participants will be selected through a comprehensive review of the application contents rather than on a first-come, first-served basis. The center plans to provide individual notification of the selection results at 5 p.m. on October 8.

What is the Seoul Global Center for International Students?

The Seoul Global Center for International Students is supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and helps international students with education, employment and settlement. Located in Sinchon, an area with many universities, it runs programs for TOPIK preparation, business Korean, employment-capacity training, work experience, counseling and networking.

This Seoul tour is not a classroom lesson but an exchange program for experiencing local sites together. It combines cultural activities and networking so international students can understand Seoul’s history and festivals and build connections with other participants.

What will participants experience at Nakseongdae?

The main activities are watching a congratulatory performance at the Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival, an audience-participation play, observing stars and planets at the observatory, and experiencing the festival’s “Goryeo Market.” The center also lists viewing the congratulatory performance from VIP seats as part of the program.

The Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival is a history and culture festival held around Nakseongdae Park in honor of Gang Gam-chan, a general of Goryeo. Gwanak District explains that it combined the Nakseongdae Inheonje, which began in 1988, with the Gwanaksan Azalea Festival, which had continued since 1998, and began the festival in its current form in 2016. Knowing that the festival brings together a historical figure, local spaces, performances and public participation can make the on-site program easier to understand.

What to check before applying

Eligible participants are international students residing in Seoul. Because the event runs on Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., applicants should first check their class and part-time work schedules. Since participants may move between the outdoor festival grounds and the observatory, comfortable shoes and clothing suited to the evening temperature are advisable.

Applications are submitted through the online form linked in the official notice. Because selection is not first come, first served, it is helpful to describe the purpose of participating and the reason for your interest in cultural exchange in detail on the application. For inquiries, contact the Seoul Global Center for International Students by email at sgc.istudent@gmail.com or by phone at 02-2075-4161.