Ganggyeong National Heritage Night Trip

🗓️ 2026.08.28 ~ 2026.09.05

Ganggyeong National Heritage Night moves away from a preservation-only framework and instead puts the area’s modern historical and cultural resources to active use. By linking the scattered modern heritage sites around Ganggyeong, the event turns the entire district into one open historical and cultural space for nighttime visitors. It runs from August 28 to September 5, 2026, with 30 detailed programs organized under 8 themes: Night View (야경), Night Road (야로), Night History (야사), Night Painting (야화), Night Performance (야설), Night Food (야식), Night Market (야시), and Night Stay (야숙).

Night View and Night Road improve physical and psychological access to heritage by presenting the Ganggyeong Modern History and Culture Street after dark through landscape lighting and media art. Visitors can naturally absorb the historical atmosphere while walking the night paths. Night History, Night Painting, and Night Performance reinterpret Ganggyeong’s modern heritage through performances, exhibitions, and hands-on experiences with a contemporary sensibility, making topics that might otherwise feel difficult more intuitive. Night Food, Night Market, and Night Stay are built in collaboration with local commercial districts and residents, linking Ganggyeong’s specialties, food, and shops to extend visitor stays and create a virtuous cycle in which networked heritage resources help revitalize the local economy. Together, the 8 themes and 30 programs are expected to bring modern vitality to Ganggyeong’s national heritage and provide a differentiated nighttime cultural heritage experience.

1. Main Programs

Opening and Lighting Performance (Night View – Memories Revealed Upon Light): An opening ceremony featuring light, illumination, fireworks, and performances connecting Ganggyeong Port to the Modern History and Culture Street.
Night Opening of National Heritage and Cultural Facilities (Night View – Ganggyeong Modern Culture Night Opening): Free nighttime viewing of national heritage and major cultural/public facilities within Ganggyeong.
National Heritage Landscape Lighting (Night View – National Heritage Imbued with Light): Landscape lighting installations inside and outside major national heritage buildings, such as the former Ilhan Bank, the former Ganggyeong Labor Union, Ganggyeong Cathedral, and Ganggyeong Lock.
Representative Theme Performance (Night Performance – Gilnori Junggoje): A traditional Gilnori performance combining the Junggoje singing style and Dure-pungjang, reflecting the historical significance of being the birthplace of Pansori Junggoje.
History Reenactment Performance (Night Performance – Following the Footsteps of the Refusal of Japanese History Lessons): A play/performance reenacting the actual event where students in the Ganggyeong area refused Japanese history lessons.
Storytelling Puppet Show (Night History – Ganggyeong Port Where Voices of Sleeping Time Are Heard): A puppet show featuring resident-participatory storytelling and vivid old tales of the Ganggyeong Port market.

2. Supplementary Programs

Theme Walkway Exploration (Night View – The Story of the ‘Cat Family’ Embracing Memories of Ganggyeong): A nighttime walkway themed around stories of cats from the old Ganggyeong Port market.
Professional Docent Tour (Night Road – Speaking Heritage, Listening Ganggyeong): A nighttime exploration tour of national heritage and modern streets led by professional commentators and youth commentators.
Street Busking (Night Performance – Modern Culture Street Busking): Street performances by local artists unfolding freely throughout the Modern History and Culture Street.
Family-Participatory History Story (Night History – Stories within Ganggyeong’s Memories): A program that unfolds the history, culture, and memories of Ganggyeong through various performances, experiences, and exhibitions.
Real-time Time-Slip Exhibition (Night Painting – BE:Ganggyeong, RE:Ganggyeong – Film of Memory): A historical archive exhibition including the Old Ganggyeong Gallery, Nonsan Promotion Zone, and AI-customized travel within the Welcome Center.
Modern Costume Experience (Night Painting – Modern Costume Salon): Virtual fitting of modern costumes in a dress shop space, era-specific makeup methods (Powder Zone), and digital window experiences of modern landscapes.
AI Photo Studio (Night Painting – Meta-Graphy: Ganggyeong Reflection): An antique photo zone and a hologram interactive AI photo booth within the Ganggyeong Photo Studio.
Media Art Experience Hall (Night Painting – Modern Culture Cinema Theater): An interactive media art experience with themes of a mysterious parallel universe and the lock within the Ganggyeong Cinema space.
Ballroom Banquet Experience (Night Painting – Dance Hall: Ganggyeong Ballroom Banquet): Social dance lessons and stage production, a time-travel elevator presentation, and a nostalgic game lounge.
Media Newspaper Experience (Night Painting – Lighthouse of Memory: Ganggyeong Newspaper): A magic newspaper where visitors explore Ganggyeong’s history by rolling a trackball, and a Maurice Column media show.

3. Consumer Participation Programs

Stamp Tour (Night Road – Mission Stamp Tour ‘Ganggyeong Heritage Notebook’): Distribution of Ganggyeong Tongbo (local currency) and specialized Night tour goods upon collecting stamps from each national heritage course.
Eco-friendly Plogging (Night Road – Polishing the Texture of Ganggyeong, Carbon Neutral Plogging): Walking through national heritage sites while collecting trash with an eco-friendly kit and exchanging it for upcycled goods.
Outdoor Mission Mystery Game (Night History – Outdoor Mission Mystery Game, Ganggyeong History Story): An outdoor escape-room style game where players solve stories while taking a walking tour around Ganggyeong.
Participatory Antique Auction (Night Market – Ganggyeong Starlight Goblin Auction House): An event where modern antiques and props donated/provided by residents are traded directly with a professional auctioneer.
Local Flea Market (Night Market – Ganggyeong Specialty Tribute Exhibition): A market for exhibition, tasting, and sale of Nonsan/Ganggyeong specialties such as salted seafood (jeotgal), agricultural products, and workshop products.
Character Pop-up Store (Night Market – Ganggyeong Cat Pop-up Store): Exhibition and sale of artworks by cat-themed artists and a character goods pop-up store.
Water Purification Experience (Climate Response – Saving Eco-friendly Waterways): An edu-tour featuring the making and throwing of EM enzyme mud balls for water purification in the section from Ganggyeong Lock to Daeheungcheon.
Recycling Flea Market (Climate Response – Resource Recycling Anabada Market): A flea market where children and family participants trade used items directly using ‘Ganggyeong Tongbo’.

4. Other Content (Food, Accommodation, and Transportation Links)

Other Food (Night Food)

Ganggyeong Tongbo Lunchbox Picnic: A food culture experience where visitors exchange currency for Ganggyeong Tongbo, hear explanations directly from salted seafood merchants, and compose their own salted seafood lunchboxes.
Ganggyeong Yajang: An outdoor street food stall area with a Newtro vibe, blending food trucks from the Youth Mall with traditional local foods from existing merchants.
Modern Street Gourmet Tour: A gastronomic tour linked with 9 fixed restaurants and cafes within the Ganggyeong Modern History and Culture Street.
Afternoon Tea Outdoor Cafe: European-style tea and refreshments enjoyed in a themed garden of modern architecture.
Ganggyeong Lighthouse BAR ’37’: An EDM standing party enjoyed with wine, beer, makgeolli, etc., against the backdrop of the Lighthouse of Memory.

Accommodation Links (Night Stay)

Ganggyeong Hotel Stay: Ganggyeong Tongbo rewards provided to guests staying at the Ganggyeong Hotel within the modern-concept Ganggyeong Club.
Ganggyeong 1-Night Stay: Night view viewing benefits and rewards provided to users of accommodation facilities throughout the Ganggyeong-eup area.

Transportation and Visitor Benefits

Night Train Travel (Night Road): Upon verification of a same-day train ticket (Daejeon/Iksan, etc.), event experience vouchers and discount coupons (Ganggyeong Tongbo) for the returning destination station are provided.

Fees

Free: Fixed facilities and programs conducted by the foundation, such as the stamp tour.
Paid: Booths selected through the experience/promotion/sale food truck open call (varies, around 5,000 KRW).

Event Information

📍 Address: Jungang-ri, Ganggyeong-eup, Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Free (Some paid)

📞 Inquiry: 041-730-2971,3

⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonsan.night/

Ganggyeong in Nonsan developed as a river-port trading hub on the Geumgang River. From the Joseon period onward, it functioned as a transshipment point where grain, fish, salt, and other goods from inland agricultural areas were transferred to boats for destinations along the western coast and, in later periods, further afield. By the late 19th century, the waterfront was lined with warehouses, brokerage houses, and market stalls, making Ganggyeong one of the busiest commercial districts in the region.

The town’s commercial role continued into the early 20th century, and the period left a visible mark on its built environment. Several of the buildings still standing date from those decades: brick warehouses, shops, and houses that show how merchants and residents adapted newer construction methods and styles to local needs. The old streets, docks, and alleyways retain the layout of a working riverside port, and they give a practical sense of how trade organized daily life.

That built heritage is now the basis for Ganggyeong’s participation in National Heritage Night. The event draws attention to the port’s history by opening its streets and buildings to visitors, offering a direct look at the commercial architecture and urban fabric that developed around the Geumgang River in Nonsan.