Jongno, the historic heart of downtown Seoul, will recreate a 600-year-old marketplace along Cheonggye Stream this Saturday during its annual Yukui-jeon Festival — a celebration named after the "Six Licensed Stores" that held exclusive royal monopolies during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910). The 2026 festival will run from 1 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 around Jangtonggyo Bridge, bringing together local merchants, food vendors, traditional games and live performances under the theme "Unjong-ga, Street Where People Gather Like Clouds." Unjong-ga was one of Joseon-era Seoul's principal commercial streets, centered around what is now Jongno intersection, where government-authorized merchants and independent traders gathered to sell their goods. The festival takes its name from Yukui-jeon, the six major categories of government-authorized shops that once dominated the district's commerce: silk, cotton fabric, hemp fabric, paper, miscellaneous textiles and seafood. Organized by the Jongno-Cheonggye Tourist Special Zone Council, this year's event will feature sales booths operated by merchants from