A promotional poster for the Beautiful Life in Seoul festival / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Driven by record-setting visitor spending in beauty, wellness and local lifestyle, Seoul is reframing its tourism strategy around how its residents actually live.
Following a record 5.6 trillion won ($4.1 billion) in credit card spending by foreign visitors in Korea during the first half of 2026, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday the launch of its Beautiful Life in Seoul festival. Opening Aug. 22 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), the four-day festival will aggregate the city's fashion, wellness and cosmetic sectors into a single immersive destination.
The new gathering consolidates several previously standalone municipal events into a unified showcase. Anchored by Seoul Beauty Week, the festival spans 12 distinct indoor and outdoor spaces across the DDP complex, bringing together interactive beauty styling, wellness classes, urban running circuits and independent design markets under one banner.
The programming is deliberately structured around the capital's day-to-night flow.
