Suwon Hwaseong to Fill with Jazz During Three-Day Festival

Jazz will spread through the lanes of Suwon’s historic Haenggung-dong this autumn, with performances staged against the walls and grounds of Suwon Hwaseong, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The city of Suwon said the 2026 Suwon Jazz Fringe Festa will run for three days from Oct. 4 to 6. Its main venue will be the outdoor courtyard of Uhwagwan at Hwaseong Haenggung, while eight other festival sites will operate throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

Eighteen teams, including leading Korean jazz artists and emerging musicians, will perform during the festival. The opening night will begin at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4 with performances by the Kim Soo-hwan Band and the Yoon Deok-hyun Band.

On Oct. 5, 10 teams, including the BMK Jazz Band, Kim Soon-young Jazz Tap Band and Lee Kang-seok Trio, will perform street jazz and marching-band sets from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Six more teams, including SoWhatNola, Noe Duo and the Choi Hee-young Rising Band, will take the stage on Oct. 6.

The closing day will also feature Fringe Night, a competition designed to identify the next generation of jazz stars. Four teams that advance through preliminary rounds will compete in the final, and the winner will earn a spot on the main stage of the 2026 Suwon Jazz Festival, scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19. Local shops around the courtyard will also open each day from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., adding food and shopping to the festival program.

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We hope families, friends and couples will visit Haenggung-dong as if taking a light stroll and enjoy the special pleasure of jazz unfolding throughout the alleys.