D.FESTA Small Theater Festival
Oct 7 – Oct 25, 2026 · Seoul
The 2026 edition ran Oct 7 – Oct 25, 2026. 2027 dates have not been announced yet; this page is updated automatically when the organizer publishes them. Check the official site for the latest.
Overview
The D.FESTA Small Theater Festival has strived to lead the way toward a better performing arts culture by keeping pace with changes in the domestic production environment and the direction of the performance market. Since 2016, through regional exchanges with cities such as Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, and Busan, the festival has worked to bridge cultural disparities nationwide—beyond just Seoul’s Daehangno district—and has consistently sought to expand its reach through cultural exchanges with overseas performance groups. As a result, the festival showcases the fruits of its ongoing international cultural exchanges. This year’s D.FESTA Small Theater Festival will serve as a springboard to introduce outstanding domestic performances to the world and to gauge and understand the cultural standards of other countries.
Why go
D.FESTA Small Theater Festival brings eight stage productions to Seoul's Daehangno theater district, including a Common Stage Asia showcase, two overseas invited productions, and five domestic invited plays. Running since 2016 with regional exchanges involving Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, and Busan, it's a good pick for visitors wanting an intimate, non-mainstream slice of Korean performing arts rather than a big mainstream show.
Getting there from Seoul
The venue, Space Aul, is on Daehak-ro in Jongno-gu, right in Seoul's Daehangno theater district, so no intercity travel is needed. The area is reachable by Seoul Subway Line 4 to Hyehwa Station, with the theater district just a short walk from the station exits.
Tips
- Showtimes vary by production: weekdays 19:30, Saturdays 16:00/18:00, Sundays 15:00/17:00 — check the specific show's schedule on the festival website before you go.
- Student tickets are 15,000 won versus 30,000 won general admission, so bring student ID if it applies to you.
- Performances are likely staged in Korean; if you want an easier experience as a non-Korean speaker, ask in advance about the overseas invited productions or any subtitling.
Best for: theater enthusiasts, students, culture seekers, independent performance fans.
Program
主なプログラム：3つのセクション、計8作品の演劇公演
PART1．COMMON STAGE ASIA _ 1作品
PART2．海外招待公演 _ 2作品
PART3．国内招待公演_ 5作品
Photos
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization 
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization 
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization 
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization 
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization 
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization
Other festivals in Seoul
Seoul
Collection: Scenes of an Era
Oct 16 – Dec 6, 2026
Collection: Scenes of an Era selects 70 works from the ARKO Art Museum's collection, shedding light on the meaning and value these works hold within the major currents of Korean contemporary art and the exhibition history of ARKO Art Museum. Following the works of 60 artists who took part in ARKO Art Museum exhibitions from the 1970s to the 2000s, the exhibition looks again at the diverse trends in Korean contemporary art of that period and the artistic achievements of these artists. Alongside the works, archival materials showing the artists' activities and the museum's exhibition history are also displayed. Added to this are the findings of collection research conducted by outside researchers for this exhibition, unfolding a multilayered story of Korean contemporary art.
Seoul
QUAD, Questions of Theater: <Flames>
Nov 14 – Dec 6, 2026
Twins Jeanne and Simon, who have kept nothing but silence between them for the past five years, are thrown into great confusion upon reading the will of their late mother, Nawal. The will asks them to find the father they had believed was dead and a brother whose existence they never even knew about, and to deliver to them letters she left behind. It also contained her request to be buried without a coffin or a headstone. The siblings set out following their mother's traces, drawing ever closer to her veiled past. And at the end of that past, the siblings come face to face with a shocking truth about their mother's silence.
Seoul
Quad, Questions of Theater: 〈The Train to Xi'an〉
Dec 16 – Dec 27, 2026
On a train racing toward the Lishan Mausoleum in Xi'an, China, Sanggon is filled with anticipation for the underground palace of Qin Shi Huang and the countless terracotta warriors he is about to encounter. As Sanggon recalls the image of Qin Shi Huang, who desired eternity within a finite life, and thinks of the things in his own life he has 'never once fully had,' the train arrives in Xi'an before he knows it. A Korean person with a Chinese mother, a person whose love has never once been fully repaid. Standing before Qin Shi Huang's desire for immortality, what is Sanggon's own desire in life? Sanggon, who has lived his whole life on the 'periphery,' stands before the grandest story of all and looks at himself. Only now, before that immense desire, does he finally look into his own story.
Reach travelers heading to Seoul: sponsor this page.
Dates and programs can change. Check the official site before you go. Official site