More than 40,000 residents and tourists visited the Ui Stream Riverside Festa 2026, held by Seoul’s Gangbuk-gu from 16 to 18 October along the Ui Stream. Staged on the riverside stretch from Uigyo Bridge to Ssanghangyo Bridge, the festival took its name, Wellness in Wonderland, from the story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Its aim was to bring opportunities to care for both body and mind closer to residents.
The Ui Stream is an ecological waterway about 8.3km long, rising in Dobongsan and flowing into the Jungnangcheon. It once faced problems including sections covered over and stretches running dry, but after being restored as an ecological stream in the 2010s, it has been used for walking and cycle paths and a cherry-blossom trail. For three days, this familiar local waterway became a setting for meditation, exercise and art.
Barre and singing-bowl yoga for Global Wellness Day
The physical activities were concentrated on 17 October, the second day. A barre exercise class was held to mark Global Wellness Day, led by actress Nam Ji-hyun, formerly a member of the group 4Minute. Based on ballet movements, barre involves sustaining small movements over time while focusing attention on the body’s centre.
A yoga class was also held that day, with participants loosening up to the sound of singing bowls. It was a chance to settle into the breath beside the stream, where the sound of water and wind mingled with the bowls’ resonant tones. For families, there was a puppet show by creative collective Ssak.
For those who find the idea of sitting still with their eyes closed for a long meditation daunting, moving the body while listening to sound offers a more approachable way in. Following the movements, attention settles on sensations before thoughts, and that experience can become a first step towards meditation.
Mayor and writer discuss art and wellness
On the opening day, 16 October, visitors could make cakes and traditional Korean paper postcards in the Queen of Hearts’ Art Garden beneath Ssanghangyo Bridge, while music performances took place on the circular stage at Jaegangjeong. At 6.30pm, Gangbuk-gu Mayor Jeong Chang-su, writer Lee Seula and Son Jinyoung, head of creative collective Ssak, held a talk concert on art and wellness.
Gangbuk-style wellness tourism: 10 places to visit along the stream
The riverside was a walking route throughout the festival. Along the literary trail from Jaegangjeong to Suyugyo Bridge, visitors could read lines by writers including Han Kang. On the stretch from Suyugyo Bridge to Ssanghangyo Bridge, an exhibition introduced the district’s selection of 10 Gangbuk-style wellness tourism destinations and featured works by the late painter Park Saeng-gwang, who lived in Suyu-dong. Plays and busking performances by local artists, selected through a preliminary screening, also took place at various spots.
Walking slowly while reading is, in itself, close to walking meditation. The festival offered time to focus on each step and breath without a destination, using the familiar setting of a walking trail.
Final day halted amid heavy-rain forecast
Operations were suspended on 18 October, the final day, because of forecasts of heavy rain and strong winds. The district concluded the event after taking safety measures and providing on-site guidance; there were no accidents during the three days.
Mayor Jeong Chang-su said he regretted that the weather had prevented the event from going ahead in full, but stressed that residents’ safety had come first. He added that the district would continue to seek out cultural and wellness programmes that people could enjoy close to home.
Meditation is not far away
When people think of wellness, they may first picture a distant holiday destination or an expensive retreat. This festival showed that even a local stream people walk beside every day can help awaken the body and calm the mind. Finding balance through barre, matching the breath to the sound of singing bowls, and walking slowly while reading all took place by the same stretch of water.
In a daily life flooded with a constant stream of information and notifications, the easiest place to begin meditating may be closer to home than you think. Try things one at a time, in a way that feels comfortable for your body and in places close to your everyday life, and find the kind of meditation that suits you: that is the suggestion left by three days at the Ui Stream.
Article enquiries: fare3041@naver.com