Today the alleys of Sangam-dong in Mapo-gu, Seoul, get wet. The 'Tong Tong Tong Multong Tong Village Festival', put together by residents themselves, runs for one day on Saturday, July 11. It is built along two lines, water play and a village market.
Both the planning and the running are in the hands of local people.
Water play in an alley does not need much. A rubber tub, a hose, and a bucket to hold water will do. Past noon, the smell of water and the smell of dust rise together from the heated concrete, and the marks left by running children dry within a few steps. The dull knock of plastic buckets bumping together comes back off the walls.
The village market is the festival's other axis. The people selling and the people buying live on the same alley. It becomes a market where asking after each other takes longer than picking out goods.
Sangam-dong is better known as a neighborhood lined with broadcasting and office facilities. The fact that alleys where people live still remain behind those buildings is hard to see from outside. The place where this festival is held is that back area.
Set against the large water festivals that local governments hold each summer, the day in Sangam-dong is small. Its character differs in that, once it ends, more people recognize one another. A village-scale event changes in texture the moment its size grows.
When crowds gather, more hands are needed to prepare, and filling those hands means calling in workers and budgets from outside the neighborhood. An event that grows that way moves away from being a day for the neighborhood.
Choosing to stay small has its price as well. If the same people take on the same work year after year, they wear out within a few years. Whether a village festival lasts depends on whether the people carrying the water buckets change from year to year.
There are no separate invitations. Water splashes once you step into the alley, so it is better to wear clothes that can get wet and bring a spare towel. The festival ends with this one day.
Event Information
Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026, one day
Place: Village alleys of Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Host: Residents of Sangam-dong
Main programs: Water play, village market
