By Xu Aiying and Yoon Hee Young
Video = Royal Culture Festival's official YouTube channel

May in Korea is often called "queen of the seasons."

Mountains and fields are dyed green in flaunting their freshness and beauty. And the temperature is moderate, as in not too hot or too cold, without monsoons or typhoons.

The month is the best of the year for picnics and outdoor events, thus many festivals and outdoor performances are scheduled at this time. The following is a Korea.net guide to festivals and performances nationwide in May.

To take in the warm sunshine of May, a stroll at a Korean palace is recommended.

The Royal Culture Festival from May 1-9 will be held at Seoul's five royal palaces -- Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung -- Jongmyo Shrine and Sajikdan Altar. Against the backdrop of these Joseon Dynasty palaces, this year's festival features 31 online and offline programs featuring traditional culture.

The program "Cinemagung (Cinema Palace)" screens palace-related films under the moonlight at the front yard of Gyeongbokgung's Heungbokjeon Hall, where Joseon King Gojong greeted foreign envoys.

The Moonlight Tour in Festival is a special event this year featuring walking tours in Changdeokgung on a quiet evening. Available daily Thursday through Sunday until June 20, the festival features events such as the changing of the royal guard at the palace's Donhwamun Gate, a new addition to the palace that used to be exclusive to Gyeongbokgung.


Classical music listening is a good choice for those exhausted from busy life.

The Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music from May 13-23 will host performances at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul Arts Center and Yun Po-sun's House in Anguk-dong (Historic Site No. 438), a neighborhood in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. The facility has a stage and seats for the audience in the garden for enjoyment of chamber music under the May sunlight. Built in 1870, the home is where the nation's fourth president lived.

Under the theme "Ode to Joy," this year's festival will have performances commemorating the 250th birthday of Beethoven, events that had been postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifty-two musicians active at home and abroad will present various genres in performing a repertoire of the German composer's chamber music.


Spending a day reading books far from crowds can be relaxing.

Nami Island in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province, from May 1-16 will hold the Nami Island International Children's Book Festival. To commemorate 60th anniversary of Korea-Portugal ties, this year's event features sculptures and installations symbolizing Portugal at main courses and program venues, giving visitors the feeling of visiting a small Portuguese village.

Performances will include those presenting Portuguese folklore using hand puppets and magic, a musical based on a Portuguese folktale and works by four Portuguese illustrators.

The Wonju Hanji Festival will run from May 1-30 at Hanji Theme Park in Wonju, Gangwon-do Province, and online. The event will feature programs including dazzling digital lighting art, an online Hanji (traditional handcrafted paper) craft experience that saw the number of participants double from last year, and "Hanji is My Friend," a public art project through paintings on Hanji.


The Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong-gun County, Gyeonggi-do Province, will hold the 2021 Spring Festival of the Garden of Morning Calm through May 19. The garden features land glowing under the spring sunlight and spring flowers including pheasant's eyes, tulips and daffodils, making it the nation's best place to see spring flowers in May.

Information on each festival is available through the links below:
Royal Culture Festival: https://www.chf.or.kr/fest
Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music: http://www.seoulspring.org/?lang=en
Nami Island International Children's Book Festival: http://www.nambookfestival.com/eng/index.php
Wonju Hanji Festival: https://hanjipark.com/eng/main.php
Garden of Morning Calm: http://www.morningcalm.co.kr/_ENG/html/main.php

xuaiy@korea.kr