K-Pop Festival, K-Star Road and GangnamDols
By Gillian Boyd Published 27 March 2026
I’m no stan, but what could be more iconic than a Gangnam K-Pop festival, taking selfies with the GangnamDols on K-Star Road and in the Starfield library.
When we were planning our trip, we scoured the internet and discovered that the Gangnam Festival was on when we were in Seoul. It was our lucky day!
Getting Tickets
Although the festival was listed as sold out, we were successful in getting tickets as we discovered a few tickets remained in the standing area exclusively for international visitors. We just had to prove our eligibility by uploading confirmation of our flights in and out of Korea and our passport details. The tickets were more expensive as they included a themed half-day tour before the concert. We booked through Trazy.com
Which option?
3 packages were offered – Best of Gangnam, Nature and History, or K-POP in Gangnam. Guess which we chose? The Best of Gangnam, of course!
I may be the grandaddy, but not quite as cool as Psy!
K-Star Road – Where Stars are Born and Gangnam Dols live
GangnamDol is an amalgamation of ‘Gangnam’ ‘idol’ and ‘doll’ and refers to the human sized bear dolls of famous K-Pop groups. There are 17 sculptures along the 1km stretch of K-Star Road and we were determined to see them all.
The visit to K-Star Road was not listed in the Best of Gangnam tour so went early before our meeting time. The wide avenue is populated with luxury brand skyscrapers in the wealthy Gangnam district of Seoul and is considered the birthplace of many K-Pop stars as more than half the Korean entertainment companies are based in Gangnam.
The main road connects the Apgujeong Rodeo Station exit 2 and Cheongdam crossroads. Just when you come up exit 2 of Apguieong Rodeo Statiion, you will be met by a 3m high statue of Psy, the grand daddy of K-Pop who put it on the world map.
GangnamDols
- 4Minute
- Super Junior
- 2PM
- FT Island
- SHINee
- Miss A
- CNBLUE
- TVXQ!
- Girls’ Generation
- EXO
- AOA
- BTS
- B1A4
- VIXX
- INFINITE
- KARA
- Block B
When BTS returned to the stage after a 4-year absence for all 7 members to complete mandatory National Service, local reports estimated that 40,000 people gathered for the free concert at Gwanghwamun Square, the historic plaza in central Seoul on 21 March 2026. They closed the centre of the city – that’s how big the support is for K-Pop in Korea!
40,000 people watched the free BTS reunion concert in Seoul
Bongeunsa Temple
At 11am our half day tour started at this historic Buddhist Temple founded in 794 and offered an incongruous peaceful retreat surrounded by the sky scrapers of Seoul. The ancient and the modern side by side. People often pray to the 23m high Maitreya Buddha for safety.
Various packages are offered to international visitors to have a temple stay and partake in monastic activities including tea ceremonies, meditation and 108 prostrations. See bongeunsa.org for details. After the guided tour we browsed a cute shop and café selling merchandise for the temple.
Reflections of Maitreya Buddha at Bongeunsa Temple Seoul Korea
Gangnam Style Statue
Embracing the moment, we queued for our photo under the iconic gold hands statue serenaded by Psy singing Gangnam Style pumping out of the loud speakers on repeat. Oh, if only we had thought to look at the photo, we would have realised we were in full shadow and have stepped forward. Never too old to learn something new!
COEX Mall
Hailed as Asia’s largest underground shopping mall, it had everything including places to sit down and eat. One of the good things about backpacking is that it forces you to be disciplined about what you buy.
Byeulmadang Starfield Library
Do not miss this stunning library. It is light, airy and modern and full of a strange mix of people using the library and those seeking the perfect photo for their socials. Very photogenic.
Ktown4u
We were taken to this popular store for K-Pop albums and merchandise.
Iconic Starfield Library in Gangnam
Gangnam Festival – the Main Event!
We collected our tickets at 5pm for the main event due to start at 7pm. We have been to many music festivals and concerts over the years but this was quite unlike any other!
A marshal arranged us in lines in ticket number order and it reminded me of what we used to do in primary school. The order was important as the lower ticket numbers enter the cordoned standing area first and moved to the front of the standing area. Then the others fill in behind. No one presses up against you. No one pushes through. If you leave the area to go to the toilet or get something to eat, you are at the back of the crowd for the rest of the concert.
Perhaps if we had been to concerts like this, we wouldn’t have damaged toenails from all the times people stood on our feet pushing and shoving to get to the front in the past! It was so civilised and we had room to dance a little on the spot but I confess my back did ache by the end of the night.
The concert was everything we had hoped it would be and more! It opened with dancers performing to tracks from K-Pop Demon Hunters which had only been released a month earlier. It was as interesting to watch the fans waving their light sticks and chanting as it was to watch the concert. The average K-Pop fan is 23 and female. Did we feel out of place? Not at all. It’s all about your attitude.
The relationship between stars and fans had a more reciprocal devotion and appreciation than I had seen before and of course the choreography and lighting was superb. The dancing was so energetic that you see the sweat running down their faces, and meant that the performance was in bursts with some chat in between which interrupted the flow a little. Perhaps I should have copied the woman near me who had a translation app open and was reading their speech.
fifty fifty performing at Gangnam Festival
g.o.d. one of the original Kpop bands performing at Gangnam Festival
The Line-up
BTOB
FIFTY FIFTY
SF9
nSSign
Baby DON’T Cry
g.o.d.
g.o.d. Groove Over Dose was not listed in the line-up when we booked but they were the final act of the night. Not so much a boy band as a man band with the maturity and gravitas that brings.
Final Thoughts
It was a long day but a great day and gave us insight into Korean culture. If on my own schedule the half day tour would have been condensed a bit. Seeing the GangnamDols on K-Star Road, the Gangnam Hands Statue and the Starfield Library followed by the concert was just perfect – almost as perfect as the K-Pop stars! If you ever get the chance to go to a K-Pop festival, take it and you will be truly entertained.
Never miss an Adventure!