Namsangol’s free taekwondo show ends this weekend (Oct. 17–18)
Seoul’s 2026 regular taekwondo performances close their season with a final weekend at Namsangol Hanok Village’s Cheonugak stage on October 17–18. Shows start at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. both days, and admission is free. A separate hands-on session for foreign visitors runs on Sunday, October 18.
Schedule
The remaining dates on the official schedule are Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, 2026. Performances begin at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on both days at the Cheonugak stage in Namsangol Hanok Village. The Seoul Culture Portal lists each show at about 20 minutes. Admission is free.
The season began on May 9 and paused in July and August. The final weekend takes place only at Namsangol; the last listed DDP street performance was October 9.
The teams
Taekwondo demonstrations have long been used to present Korean culture to international audiences. Kukkiwon dates its demonstration team’s founding to September 6, 1974, and describes work that combines traditional techniques with contemporary storytelling.
Ten teams, including Kukkiwon, BIGABI and Mirme, take part in Seoul’s 2026 season. That is the season-wide roster; the organizer’s latest notice lists who appears on the final weekend. The 2012 Kukkiwon photographs accompanying this article show an earlier performance at the same venue.
On stage
The performances are built on moments when a group starts and stops together, on the spacing as formations change and on the timing between the person breaking a board and those holding the targets. While one performer is airborne, the rest of the team moves around them.
A 2026 account by Seoul citizen reporter Jo Su-yeon describes BIGABI linking music, poomsae, group movement and breaking. That report covered an earlier performance; songs and running order may differ on the final weekend.
Namsangol Hanok Village
The Seoul Tourism Organization describes Namsangol as five Joseon-era hanok relocated from different parts of the city. Their interiors recreate the households of different social backgrounds.
The 2012 photographs show an airborne performer beneath the hanok eaves with teammates supporting the move. They record that earlier performance, not the 2026 cast or current stage layout; the captions give the dates.
Hands-on sessions
On performance days, an experience zone beside the audience area runs from 1–2 p.m. and 3–4 p.m. Saturday features punching equipment and Sunday kicking equipment. No advance application is needed.
A uniform-based class for foreign visitors is separate. In the autumn it runs on performance Sundays, leaving October 18 as the final listed date, with sessions at 2:30–3 p.m. and 4:30–5 p.m. The notice lists ten foreign participants, advance and on-site applications, and instruction in basic movements, poomsae, mitt kicks and breaking. Applications go through the official form linked from the Seoul Culture Portal.
For non-Korean speakers
Kicks, changes of direction and shifting formations are easy to follow visually, so the show works for visitors who do not speak Korean. The organizer has not said that all announcements will be in English. English event information is on Visit Seoul.
Questions about language support or space in a particular session can go to the organizer at +82-2-6204-2923. Visitors who want to try a move should use the supervised activity space rather than attempting airborne techniques from the seats.
Getting there
The address is 28 Toegye-ro 34-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. The official tourism guide places it about 307 metres from Exit 4 of Chungmuro Station on subway Lines 3 and 4. Cheonugak is inside the village, a short walk from the entrance.
Rain or site conditions can change the schedule; the official Instagram account, @seoul.tkd, posts updates. Dates and times reflect the official schedule as checked on October 12. No performances have been announced after October 18.
Sources & context
2026-10-13T23:35:46.478Z
Seoul Culture Portal ↗Seoul Tourism Organization · 2026 Seoul Taekwondo Performance ↗korean.visitseoul.net ↗Seoul Culture Portal · 2026-09-04 ↗mediahub.seoul.go.kr ↗Kukkiwon · Demonstration Team official history and mission ↗Seoul Tourism Organization · Namsangol Hanok Village ↗Creative Commons · Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic ↗Jeon Han / Korea.net / KOCIS · Namsan 14 · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗Jeon Han / Korea.net / KOCIS · Namsan 12 · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗Archive photograph of the Kukkiwon demonstration at Namsangol Hanok Village, 21 July 2012; not the 2026 event or cast. Jeon Han / Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, “KOCIS Korea Taekwondo Namsan 14 (7628124388).jpg”, CC BY-SA 2.0. Original file bytes retained; no generated content, alteration or file crop. Card framing may trim edges; the larger image shows the complete frame. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KOCIS_Korea_Taekwondo_Namsan_14_(7628124388).jpg · License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Archive photograph of the Kukkiwon demonstration at Namsangol Hanok Village, 21 July 2012; not the 2026 event or cast. Jeon Han / Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, “KOCIS Korea Taekwondo Namsan 12 (7628125294).jpg”, CC BY-SA 2.0. Original file bytes retained; no generated content, alteration or file crop. Card framing may trim edges; the larger image shows the complete frame. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KOCIS_Korea_Taekwondo_Namsan_12_(7628125294).jpg · License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Namsangol Hanok Village on April 9, 2024: a courtyard beneath tiled roofs, with a stone wall and a terrace of earthenware jars. Photo: Mobius6 / Namsangol Hanok Village 20240409 048 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
Kukkiwon Taekwondo Demonstration Team members strike the same fist-raised stance at a regular show for visitors at Namsangol Hanok Village on July 21, 2012. Not a photo of this year's performances. Photo: Korea.net / KOCIS (Jeon Han) / KOCIS Korea Taekwondo Namsan 32 (7628116012) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
Both photographs document an actual performance on 21 July 2012. The 2026 schedule comes from official city information; the pictured cast and sequence are not presented as this year’s program.