100 Years Night Night Market 2026 (백년나이트 야시장)

100 Years Market (Baengnyeon Sijang) is an everyday neighbourhood market in Suyu-dong, in the north of Seoul’s Gangbuk-gu district. Local press describes it as a market that has served residents since the 1970s. A few times a year the district turns the lane into a retro night market called Baengnyeon Night, with neon signs, mirror balls, a DJ booth and a coin-collecting game layered on top of ordinary market stalls. The festival’s official site says the project was certified as the country’s best night market in 2025.

The October 2026 edition runs on 30 and 31 October, 16:00 to 21:00, and the Korea Tourism Organization lists it as free. It is organised under the market’s Culture and Tourism Market project team, with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gangbuk-gu as hosts. The theme is “WICKED”, a Halloween-flavoured, witches-and-wizards look.

Why there is a second try this year

The market was supposed to hold an edition on 7 and 8 August 2026. Gangbuk-gu cancelled it, and several outlets reported on 7 August that the district cited the continuing heat wave and the risk of heat illness for visitors and merchants. Press coverage of the October edition describes it as the replacement for that cancelled night. This matters mainly for two reasons. First, the organisers have shown that they will cancel on safety grounds. Second, much of the material online about “Baengnyeon Night” in 2026 refers to the August plan, with different dates and hours.

An earlier edition was announced for 26 and 27 September 2025 with hours of 17:00 to 22:00. The 2026 October hours are different, so do not copy times from last year’s posts.

What you actually do here

The basic activity is walking the market lane and eating. According to KTO’s listing, food comes from the permanent market shops, food trucks and mobile stalls. It also names the market’s own Baengnyeon Jumak makgeolli (rice wine) and the signature drinks of the Baengnyeon cocktail bar. The listing does not give a menu or prices, so treat both as things to look for rather than promises.

The lane is split into zones, which the KTO text lists as a stage with DJ music and performances, a food lounge for resting, a table zone for sitting with a group, and a game area called the “play bunker”. A press report about the October edition adds seating that is described as inspired by Oktoberfest-style communal tables, called “Baengnyeon Booking”, meant for chatting with strangers. I could not confirm how many seats there are or whether they can be reserved.

The programme in the KTO listing is:

• Main programmes: DJ sets, main-stage performances, small performances at a mirror-ball mini stage, busking, guest dance performances, a dance competition and the night market itself.
• Side programmes: the coin collect-and-exchange event, a receipt-verification event, mini-games, bingo, on-site mission events, WICKED-themed experience booths, a flea market and a song-request event.

The Gukje News report from 23 October, which follows the organisers’ announcement, adds more detail. It names “WICKED PLAY” missions such as potion drops, secret boxes and a curse timer, and says seven DJ teams will play across the two days, including YOOKEEP and CASH. Live acts it lists are the singer Seo Jung-eun, the trot singer Kang Yu-bin, the saxophonist Allen and the vocalist Kim Ye-bin. It says the Caribbean music crew Mangrove and the dance crew Trigger will perform together on the evening of 31 October. I could only find this line-up in that one report, so it is not treated as confirmed here, and the schedule by hour is not published.

How the coin system works

The part that most separates this event from an ordinary market is the coin scheme. As KTO describes it, you collect “subaekyi” coins by showing a receipt for 3,000 won or more spent in the market, or by joining missions and events. The coins are then exchanged for:

• Baengnyeon Night merchandise
• 100 Years Market vouchers
• a Baengnyeon Jumak makgeolli kit
• digital Onnuri vouchers
• cocktails, which can be exchanged any number of times

Gukje News also mentions reusable cups among the rewards. The practical point is that spending in the market, not just turning up, is what feeds the game. Keep your receipts together. The listing does not say how many coins each task gives or whether stocks of prizes run out, so do not assume a particular reward will still be there late in the evening.

Tickets, fees and booking

There is no entry ticket and no booking requirement in any source I found. The only money you need is for food, drink and any games that charge. None of the pages I read gave prices, and I could not confirm whether every stall takes cards. The digital Onnuri voucher is a Korean payment product, and the official site mentions Kakao Talk promotions, so some offers may need Korean apps. Carry some cash and a card as a backup.

Getting there without a car

The festival site is in the northern part of Seoul, not in the central tourist districts. The simplest public-transport route is Seoul Metro Line 4, which runs directly from Seoul Station to Suyu Station. Transit planners put the trip at roughly 24 minutes without a transfer. I did not check live timetables for the evening.

From Suyu Station you walk to Hancheon-ro 144-gil. Sources disagree about the walking time: one listing says about two minutes, while another suggests nine to ten. I cannot tell you which is right, so enter the address (16 Hancheon-ro 144-gil, Gangbuk-gu) into Naver Map or Kakao Map and follow it. I did not confirm any bus route, so none is recommended here.

Parking, shuttles and traffic control

No parking map, shuttle service or road-closure notice had been published for the October dates in anything I could read. A news item reports that the market’s merchants have asked for action on a shortage of parking around the market, which is a reason not to count on finding a space. Use the subway. If a lane closure is announced, the most likely place for it is the official site or the market’s Instagram account (@100yearsmarket), which I could not read in detail.

Food on site and nearby

Beyond the stalls above, you are in a working market, which has ordinary shops selling fresh food, snacks and prepared dishes. One listing gives its regular opening hours as 08:00 to 21:00, but I only found that in one place, so do not rely on it for your evening plans. For a sit-down meal that is separate from the event, check places on a map app before you go. Because no food list for October has been published, vegetarian, halal or allergy-safe options cannot be promised.

Day trip or overnight

Since the event ends at 21:00 and sits in Seoul, it fits easily into an evening if you are staying in the city. Line 4 serves Seoul Station and Myeong-dong, so for visitors based in those areas the trip is simple. I did not look at last-train times, so check the final Line 4 departure from Suyu Station if you plan to stay until close.

Honest assessment

This is a small, local night market with a theme, not a national-scale festival. Its draw is the atmosphere of a real market lane after dark, free entry and a game that rewards you for spending in the shops. The cost of that is a lack of published detail: there is no hourly timetable, no menu or price list, no rain policy and no parking guidance, and every source I found is in Korean; I could not confirm any English support on site.

If you read Korean or are going with someone who does, you will probably get more out of it, since the official coin rules and announcements I found are all in Korean. If you do not, expect to learn the system by asking staff or watching other people. Go early, bring small notes and a card, and treat the line-up as something to enjoy if it happens rather than as the reason to travel. For a guaranteed outcome, check the official Instagram on the afternoon of the 30th, as the August cancellation shows that the organisers decide late.