Health, Happiness, Healing: The Han-maeum Walking Festival

By Kim Minsu ||

Under October’s high blue sky, Korean and international residents stretch, walk, eat, and spend a day together, benefitting both body and mind.

Picture a thousand people standing together on the grass at Hwang-nyong Waterfront Park (황룡친수공원) on a cool Sunday morning in October. An instructor calls out from the stage, “Arms go up, shoulders roll back, knees bend” – international and Korean residents, side by side, doing the same warm-up before setting off on the same path.

The moment is the heart of the 2026 Jeonnam-Gwangju Han-maeum Walking Festival. Han-maeum (한마음) means “one heart/mind,” and on October 18, the festival, being held for the first time, will bring together Korean and international residents from across the region for a day built on a simple hope: that we can be healthy and happy here, together, in the place we all call home.

Starting Together

The morning opens gently. After the opening ceremony at 10:00 a.m., everyone joins the warm-up stretching session; then the walk begins at 10:30, with a group photo and a send-off.

The course is a two-kilometer loop around the park lined with cosmos flowers, taking about thirty minutes at an easy pace. There is no timing and no ranking; it’s not a race. Families with small children, older walkers, and anyone who would rather stop and gaze at the river can take it just as slowly as they’d like. October in Gwangju is made for such an event: The sky is high and clear; the air is finally cool.

Along the way, experience booths wait at points around the loop, and participants collect stamps by participating at each one. Complete the mission and a commemorative gift is waiting at the end. The stamps are a small thing, but they do their job: They turn a walk into a reason to stop and talk to someone.

Tasting, Trying, Meeting

From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the festival grounds will feature a variety of booths offering foods, crafts, cultural experiences, and support for international residents. Ten of the booths offer world food and culture. Five serve dishes and desserts from participating countries; the other five invite you to try something with your hands – traditional games, costumes, crafts, and musical instruments – and they are run by residents originally from those countries, sharing their own culture rather than having it explained.

“A raffle … closes out the day.”

Reusable tableware and eco-friendly products will be used wherever possible so that the park is left the way it was found. Bringing your own container and tumbler is even better – for yourself and for the environment.

Several booths will be operated by local international communities. Musubu Gwangju introduces Japanese culture through language and play. And Ukuland, the local ukulele community, will play a few songs and let you try out your skill on the instrument.

If you have ever wanted to meet people from different countries or find a global community here in Gwangju, this is a great opportunity. You may come for the walk and find, by chance, a new community, a new interest, or simply someone you are glad to have met.

Health is woven through the day as well. Four booths are staffed by health professionals offering free blood pressure and blood sugar checks, along with guidance on oral care and chronic disease prevention. They can also connect you to local clinics if a follow-up is needed.

Eight more booths will be staffed by organizations that support international residents all year round – counseling, education, family support, interpretation – plus partner banks offering plain-language help with opening an account, sending money home, and spotting financial scams.

Ending Well

A raffie from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. closes out the day, using the participant numbers handed out at registration. No forms, no extra steps; winners simply need to be present.

The festival is hosted by Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City and organized by the Jeonnam-Gwangju International Residents Center, with the Gwangju Immigration Office, in cooperation with the Gwangju Police Agency, the Gwangsan-gu Facilities Management Corporation, the Gwangsan-gu Family Center, and the Global Gwangju Network.

Come stretch with us, walk at your own pace, eat something you have never tried before – and return home with a little more of this place feeling like yours.

Cover Photo: Official poster for the 2026 Jeonnam-Gwangju Han-maeum Walking Festival, October 18. (GIRC)