A national humanities festival opened in Seoul on November 6, bringing writers, musicians, filmmakers, creators and other cultural figures together to explore what the organizers call “human intelligence” in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. The three-day 2026 Humanities Culture Festival runs through November 8 at Layer Studio 11 in Mapo District, a neighborhood known for its independent arts and creative communities. The event is organized by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service. Its central theme is the ability to reflect on oneself, understand other people and make independent choices—qualities the organizers view as distinctively human and increasingly important as AI becomes part of everyday work and communication. The opening program features former professional Go champion Lee Sedol and producer Choi Seong-woon discussing “the move AI cannot make.” Lee became internationally known after his 2016 Go matches against Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo, which helped bring public attention to the capabilities and limits of artificial intelligence.
The festival also presents a conversation between poet Hwang In-chan and singer Yang Hee-eun on the relationship between poetry and song. Additional sessions on November 7 will bring together writer Kim Gyeo-ul, filmmaker Kim Cho-hee and content creator Lee Chung-nyeong for a discussion about finding a personal pace rather than comparing oneself with others. Webtoon artist Lee Jong-beom, astronomer Shim Chae-kyung and literary critic Park Hye-jin will examine how humanities thinking can shape professional life. Singer Sunwoojunga and architect Cho Byung-soo are scheduled to discuss the meaning of contemplation, while rapper Nucksal and digital creators will focus on relationships, memory and the parts of life that cannot be edited into a polished online image. The festival also includes exhibitions, memoir-writing activities and walking programs around the Mapo and Hongdae areas.
The program extends beyond Seoul. Organizers say ten regional bookstores will host book recommendations and author talks, while related humanities initiatives—including youth classes and “Humanities on the Road”—will take place at 193 locations across South Korea during November. For international visitors, the festival offers a useful window into a broader Korean cultural conversation: not simply whether AI can create, but what kinds of judgment, empathy and self-understanding people want to preserve.