While wandering through the Seoul Flea Market, I stumbled upon a festival. The banner read 서울풍물시장 만물축제, which translates to something like “Seoul Flea Market Everything Festival.”

It turned out to be an annual festival organized by the market, imagine something like the Dutch King’s Day. This day’s main event was a singing competition. Most of the people in attendance were around retirement age, so naturally, they chose to sing Trot songs.

The contestants varied wildly in skill, but I stayed to soak in the culture and do some unabashed people-watching.

Trot Parties

Trot is a music genre that’s especially popular among older Koreans. I often compare it to German Schlager or carnival music, it can be humorous or deeply emotional.
I’d seen references to Trot parties in Korean shows before and always wanted to attend one. They seemed so lively and full of character. I just had no idea how to join one myself.
So stumbling upon this festival was pure luck — it was exactly what I’d been hoping to experience.

I spent about three hours watching around twenty performances by contestants, clapping enthusiastically for every one of them. At the end, there was a performance by a professional Trot singer and an award ceremony.
Here are some of my favorite moments:

The People

I saw so many different kinds of people today. They all felt like caricatures of personality types. My Korean helped me get the gist of what was being said, but for the parts I couldn’t understand, I just imagined my own stories for them.

The Host with the Most

The festival had a charismatic MC who tied all the performances together. There were judges too, but they quietly did their scoring on paper, and the results were only announced at the end.

Beanie Diva

Before she started, she mentioned that she had some experience and it showed. Her performance was flawless, even including some dance moves. The crowd gave her a huge reaction when she finished.

Miss DIY

I noticed her early on and hoped she would perform. When she got on stage, she proudly announced that she had made her outfit herself!
Let’s just say her sewing wasn’t quite as strong as her singing.

The Off-Key Crooner (No picture to protect the artist)

This man was so off-tune that half of the audience actually got up and left. He had no energy and didn’t seem to care that he was driving people away.
The hosts looked worried, thinking the event might flop after this, and the MC had to do some damage control.

The Gentleman Performer

This elderly man walked with two canes and was dressed in a neat suit. His performance was modest but heartfelt — a proper gentleman giving it his all.

The Stage Lion

Before performing, he covered his face with his hands and told the MC he was shy. But once the music started, he completely lit up the stage.
During the musical interlude, he spoke to the crowd, telling us how much he loved us and encouraging everyone to clap along.

The MC was stunned when he came back off stage: “You said you were shy! What a liar!”

Mr. Makgeolli

This performer missed his call because he was drinking makgeolli with his brother. He apologized in advance in case his performance was disappointing because he was “a little tipsy.”
But when he started singing, he was completely serious belting out a heartfelt ballad that won everyone over.

Cool Shades Guy

I had been standing next to this guy for most of the festival, just exchanging grins whenever someone bombed. Then suddenly, he got called up!
I was genuinely impressed, he absolutely delivered.

Dancing Fedora

A bit older, but incredibly energetic. His performance got the whole crowd moving. Nothing but respect.

The Comic Beggar

A trainee comedian acting as a poor beggar. People in the crowd would hold out cash, and he’d rush over, pretending to collect it with exaggerated gratitude.
He was hired by the organizers to keep the energy up, and it worked perfectly.

The Professional

After the contestants were done, they brought out a professional singer — her face was even on the festival banner.
She bantered a bit with the MC, then started her performance, showing us how to clap and sing along.

Soon, people in the crowd were dancing and clapping together. It was such a joyful moment to witness.

The Awards

They handed out four awards in total.

The Popularity Award

This award went to a crowd favorite, not quite good enough for the top three, but deserving of an honorable mention.
And of course, it was awarded to The Stage Lion!

Top 3

They handed out third and second place prizes, both unpictured, but the winner of the entire contest was, of course, Beanie Diva!

Stumbling upon this event has been one of my favorite moments of the trip so far. It felt like a slice of authentic local culture, and it was such a blessing to be part of it.
I spent the whole three hours clapping for every contestant and having the time of my life. At the end, an 아저씨 came up to me and clapped for me — as if to thank me for being such a good sport and joining in with the Korean spirit all around us.

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