A total of 3.22 million people visited the urban summer festival “2026 Seoul Summer Beach” (photo). Organized by the Seoul Tourism Foundation, the event—held under the theme “Wave Summer, Play Seoul”—took place over 21 days from the 20th of last month to the 9th of this month at Gwanghwamun Square and Sejongno Park. Notably, this year’s event extended operating hours until 10:00 p.m. and featured new attractions such as a flea market and food trucks, along with various collaborative events with the Busan Tourism Organization, ABC Mart, and Dongseo Foods.
◇KAIST and Hannam University Secure PIERS for Daejeon
KAIST and Hannam University have secured the right to host the “49th International Conference on Photonics and Electromagnetics” (PIERS) in Daejeon. Founded in 1989, the conference is organized by the U.S. Academy of Electromagnetics and is a world-renowned international academic event in the fields of electromagnetics and photonics. The 48th conference, held in Suzhou, China, in July, drew approximately 2,300 participants from 52 countries, who presented over 2,000 research papers. Next year’s event is scheduled to take place from May 9 to 13 at the Daejeon Convention Center.
The “2029 Yeoncheon World Paleolithic Expo” has received approval asan international event from the Ministry of Planning and Budget. The expo, which Gyeonggi Province and Yeoncheon County are jointly organizing, is an expansion of the “Yeoncheon Paleolithic Festival” (pictured)—a local festival now in its 33rd year—into an international cultural heritage event. The Expo will be held for 21 days, from April 21 to May 11, 2029, under the theme “Yeoncheon: A World-Class Archaeological Site Embracing the Origins of Human Civilization,” at the Jeongok-ri archaeological site in Yeoncheon County.
