Church in Seoul hosts major youth festival as preview to World Youth Day 2027

More than 30,000 people took part in the “Hee Hee Hee” Youth Festival in Seoul, South Korea, from May 9 to 11, a large-scale, youth-led celebration organized by the Archdiocese of Seoul and the Local Organizing Committee for World Youth Day (WYD) 2027. Organizers said the festival aimed to offer “a vibrant, youth-led celebration of faith, vocation, and community” through programs inspired by the Korean characters for “Light,” “Hope,” and “Joy.”
Young people played a central role in planning and executing the festival, which featured thematic zones, concerts, liturgical cele-brations, and interactive exhibits. According to organizers, the event welcomed “people of all ages, nationalities, and religious back-grounds, creating a space of shared joy and intercultural dialogue.”
Structured to mirror elements of WYD, the Seoul gathering included catechesis, witness talks, creative performances, a prayer vigil, and a concluding Mass held on May 11 at the Catholic Uni-versity Sungsin Campus, also known as the “Truth Zone.”
Presiding over the Mass, Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul urged young people to listen to God’s call. “In a special way this year, as we journey toward the 2027 World Youth Day within the grace of the Jubilee Year, I earnestly hope that the ‘Hee, Hee, Hee’ Youth Festival will inspire more young people to open their hearts to the Lord’s call and respond with courage and faith,” he said in his homily.
“The Church thrives and bears fruit when it gives rise to new vocations,” he added. “In many ways, the world is, perhaps unknowingly, yearning for ‘witnesses of hope’—those who testify through their very lives that following Christ is the wellspring of true joy.”
An estimated 3,500 people attended the Mass, which featured music, testimonies, and a strong focus on vocational discernment.