SPOTLIGHT 26/08/08 Catholic fair tests preparations for Seoul WYD 2027

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Hot weather made the event a useful rehearsal for next year’s youth gathering, volunteers said

Despite temperatures reaching 40°C, the highest recorded in South Korea in eight years, numerous religious congregations and associations helped bring the 'Catholic Culture Fair' to life in Seoul on Aug. 8 and 9. (Photo: fides.org)

By UCA News reporter

Published: August 10, 2026 09:05 AM GMT

Updated: August 10, 2026 09:07 AM GMT

A Catholic culture fair in central Seoul has served as an early test of preparations for World Youth Day 2027, drawing religious congregations, Catholic groups and curious passersby despite intense summer heat.

The Catholic Culture Fair was held on Aug. 8–9 along the stone walkway of Deoksugung Palace, where about 48 religious orders, congregations and institutes of consecrated life set up booths.

Organizers presented it as a pilot initiative ahead of World Youth Day, which Seoul will host from Aug. 3–7, 2027.

Participating groups included the Jesuits, the Society of the Sacred Heart, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Discalced Carmelite Missionaries and the Korean Martyrs Blessed Family, along with other apostolic groups and Catholic movements.

The fair introduced visitors to Catholic life and culture in Korea through exhibitions, vocation conversations, music, drawing, games and handicrafts. Posters explained the history of Catholicism in the country, while a “Vocation Café” allowed visitors to speak directly with consecrated men and women.

At “Reconciliation Park,” organizers provided spaces for prayer, reflection and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Visitors were invited to consider their lives, relationships and the need to safeguard peace in personal, community and international relations.

Temperatures during the fair reached about 40 degrees Celsius, according to Fides News Agency.

Volunteers said the weather made the event a useful rehearsal for next year’s youth gathering.

“Summer in Korea is very hot and humid, so I think one of the purposes of this initiative was also to serve as a kind of trial run ahead of next year’s WYD and to prepare us in advance for the conditions we will face,” said Augustino Park Beom-su, a volunteer at the event.

Park said the fair also introduced non-Catholics and foreign visitors to Korea’s Catholic heritage.

He said the experience deepened his hopes for the 2027 gathering.

“This experience also made me feel the need to pray even more, asking that WYD may take place smoothly and without difficulties,” he said.

Sister Ambrosia Seo of the Sisters of the Annunciation of the Divine Word told Fides she was encouraged by the response from ordinary passersby and “became curious about the fair and stopped to find out more and take part in the various activities offered.”

“You can feel a very Korean atmosphere, while at the same time there are many traces of Korea’s modern history, including from a religious and cultural perspective,” she said.

Sister Seo said the event showed how Catholics could reach people in a country where the Church remains a minority community.

The encounters offered a glimpse of what could happen during preparations for World Youth Day, she said.

“I was struck by seeing that, already during the preparations for WYD, such spontaneous and simple encounters can take place,” the nun added.

South Korea is preparing to host what is expected to be the largest gathering of young Catholics in the country.

A 2025 series of surveys by the Public Opinion Research Division of Korea Research found that 20 percent of the population identified as Protestant, 17 percent as Buddhist, 11 percent as Catholic and 51 percent as having no religious affiliation.