KATHMANDU: The city of Anseong will host the 2026 Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Festival from October 2 to 5 at Anseong Matchum Land and along Anseongcheon Stream, with an opening-eve festival scheduled for October 1.

The festival is one of South Korea’s major traditional culture events, centred on Namsadangnori, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Baudeogi, described by organisers as Joseon’s first female kkokdusoe, or leader of a Namsadang troupe.

Baudeogi rose to the highest leadership position in the male-dominated Namsadang tradition during the Joseon Dynasty, leading the Anseong Namsadangpae through her artistic ability and leadership. Her legacy continues through Anseong Namsadang and the annual festival.

This year’s festival carries the theme “Joseon’s First Idol, Baudeogi, Shakes the World”, with organisers aiming to promote Korean traditional arts internationally and expand the event as a global traditional arts festival.

The programme will feature performances of Namsadangnori, including pungmul, beona, salpan, eoreum (tightrope walking), deotboegi and deolmi. The festival will also present the Baudeogi Signature Show, which combines traditional performance with contemporary staging, along with international folk performances under the CIOFF programme.

Visitors will be able to participate in a range of cultural and community programmes, including a recreation of Anseong Old Market, reflecting the city’s historical market culture during the Joseon period. Other attractions will include the Baudeogi Light Festival, citizen choir and orchestra performances, a foreigner singing contest, traditional cultural experiences and local food.

The city said it is also working to strengthen the festival’s international appeal by inviting overseas performing groups and foreign diplomatic missions in Korea, operating foreign supporters and providing multilingual interpretation and guidance services.

An Anseong city official said Namsadangnori and Baudeogi are distinctive cultural assets of the city and that the festival would seek to share the artistic value of Korean traditional culture with audiences from around the world.

The official said the city aims to develop the event into a representative global traditional culture festival in South Korea.