This post summarizes official announcements; it is not a review of a visit. Sources: Seoul city's October event plan (September 30, 2026) and English press release (September 21, 2026) with its poster and site map, the organizer's tournament website (drone experience, FPV racing, drone soccer and venue pages), and the Gwangnaru Hangang Park parking and directions pages of Seoul's Future Hangang Headquarters, checked on October 7, 2026. The character illustrations are GPT-generated images.
- Dates
- Fri, Oct 23, 2026 ~ Sat, Oct 24
- Hours
- Varies by program · Oct 23 08:00–17:00 · Oct 24 09:00–17:00
- Venue
- Hangang Drone Park, Gwangnaru Hangang Park (광나루한강공원 한강드론공원)351-1 Cheonho-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul (서울 강동구 천호동 351-1)
- Organizer
- Seoul Metropolitan Government · KAMA (한국모형항공협회)
- Official
- Official notice (Korean) ↗
- Updated
- when we last re-checked the official notice
📅 Schedule at a glance
October 2026
Event daysHighlightsTodayKorean public holidays
Korea Meteorological Administration · 10/16, 2 AM issued · forecasts can change
📌 What's on each day
- 10/23Fri★ Opening · QualifiersToday
- 10/24Sat★ Finals · Main rounds · AwardsToday
🔁 Daily · Walk-in activities · drone coding · drone building · hot-air balloon · Drone soccer
Seoul Drone Racing World Cup 2026 — Schedule, Parking & Drone Building and Coding Activities at Gwangnaru Hangang Park
Over the Han River in cool autumn air,
two days of drones taking flight 🚁
Now in its second year!
The 2026 Seoul Drone Racing World Cup
(2026 서울 국제 드론 레이싱 월드컵)
runs Fri Oct 23 – Sat Oct 24
at Hangang Drone Park (한강드론공원)
in Gwangnaru Hangang Park.
We put this together from
Seoul city’s October event plan (September 30),
Seoul city’s press release (September 21)
and the organizer’s tournament website,
as of October 7.
🏁 What kind of competition is it?
Pilots watch the feed
from a camera on the drone
and race it around a course —
it’s an FPV (first-person view) drone racing competition.
Around 60 pilots
from 10 countries take part.
The 32 who get through qualifying
fight it out in a knockout tournament.
The winner takes home
the Seoul Mayor’s Award and a 5 million won prize!
There’s also a drone soccer tournament
at the same venue.
On the 23rd, the Seoul National Drone Soccer Championship;
on the 24th, the Open International Cup,
with players from Korea, China and Japan.
Seoul city says
the competition area and the activity area
are run separately.
On the site map, the Drone Experience Zone
is right next to the entrance.
⏰ When are the races?
These times are from Seoul city’s poster.
The opening and awards ceremonies are listed
in the tournament rules on the organizer’s website.
| Date & time | Event |
|---|---|
| Oct 23 (Fri) 08:00–17:00 | Racing qualifiers |
| Oct 23 (Fri) 10:00 | Opening ceremony (tournament rules) |
| Oct 23 (Fri) 10:00–17:00 | National drone soccer championship |
| Oct 24 (Sat) 09:00–13:00 | Racing main rounds |
| Oct 24 (Sat) 10:00–17:00 | Drone soccer International Cup |
| Oct 24 (Sat) 13:00–16:00 | Racing finals |
| Oct 24 (Sat) 16:20 | Awards ceremony (tournament rules) |
The qualifying and final times in the rules
differ a little from the poster.
We’ve listed both under ⏳ below.
🚁 What can you try?
This is from the organizer’s
’Drone Experience’ page.
Times are the same on the 23rd and 24th.
| Time | Activity & sign-up |
|---|---|
| 10:00–16:00 | Walk-in — drone soccer (on an inflatable pitch) · drone basketball · drone fishing · drone simulator · paper airplane folding |
| On the hour at 10 · 11 · 13 · 14 · 15 | Drone coding (50 min, advance booking) — fly a drone with code on a smartphone or tablet |
| On the hour at 10 · 11 · 13 · 14 · 15 | Hot-air balloon launching (50 min, advance booking) — same five sessions as drone coding; nobody rides it |
| 10:30 · 13:00 · 14:30 | Drone building (80 min, advance booking) — participants pay part of the drone kit cost |
In drone building,
you can take home the drone you build
The page says that if advance bookings
don’t fill up,
you can also sign up on site.
🚇 Getting there & parking
The Drone Park is inside Gwangnaru Hangang Park,
near Gwangnaru Parking Lot 2,
next to the Bicycle Park.
(351-1 Cheonho-dong, Gangdong-gu)
Subway The organizer points you to
Amsa Station (Line 8) and Cheonho Station.
Here’s where the Cheonho Station exits lead.
| Cheonho Station (Lines 5 & 8) | Where it leads |
|---|---|
| Exit 1 | Enter the park through the Jeumeungil Nadeulmok (즈믄길 나들목) entrance |
| Exits 2 & 10 | The stairs at Cheonho Bridge |
Parking spaces and rates:
| Lot & rate | Spaces & price |
|---|---|
| Gwangnaru Parking Lot 2 (in front of the Jeumeungil entrance, the nearest) | 114 spaces |
| Whole park | 4 lots, 389 spaces |
| First 30 min | 1,000 won |
| Every 10 min after that | 200 won |
| Daily maximum | 10,000 won |
| Seoul’s multi-child family card (다둥이 행복카드) | 50% off |
Parking outside the designated spots
means a 50,000 won fine.
Because weekends get crowded,
the Future Hangang Headquarters
recommends public transit.
👨👩👧 Going with kids
The 23rd is a Friday,
so with school-age kids
Saturday the 24th is the realistic choice.
If you didn’t manage to book ahead,
ask on site
whether any spots are left.
The park has restrooms, convenience stores
and a children’s playground.
It’s outdoors by the river,
so a windbreaker is a good idea.
and the racing finals are in the afternoon
Do the activities first in the morning,
then watch the finals in the afternoon
⏳ Not announced yet
□ Race and activity times (they differ between notices)
Here are the times from each source side by side.
| Race / activity | Times by source |
|---|---|
| 23rd racing qualifiers | Seoul city’s poster 08:00–17:00 · organizer’s tournament rules 13:00–18:00 |
| 24th racing finals | Seoul city’s poster 13:00–16:00 · organizer’s tournament rules 15:30–16:00 |
| 23rd activities | Seoul city’s poster 11:00–17:00 · organizer’s activity page 10:00–16:00 |
| 24th activities | Seoul city’s poster 11:00–16:00 · organizer’s activity page 10:00–16:00 |
□ Where and by when to book
The poster lists only drone building,
while the activity page lists building, coding
and the hot-air balloon as advance-booking activities.
□ Admission (whether it’s free)
□ Age limits for activities · drone building cost
□ Parking arrangements and shuttles during the event
□ What happens in rain or strong wind
The tournament rules say the schedule
may change depending on conditions on site.
We’ll update this post once there’s a confirmed notice.
For questions, call the organizer,
KAMA (한국모형항공협회), at 02-548-1961.
👍 Recommended for these families
✔ Families looking for drone building and coding activities with kids
✔ Families curious to watch the drone racing finals
✔ Families after a Han River outing near Cheonho or Amsa
Watching the races and trying drones yourself —
an event where you can do both in one place.
We put this post together from official notices before visiting. The character illustrations are GPT-generated images.
🔄 Updates
- One-week check
- First write-up
📎 Sources
- 2026년 10월 주요 시민안내사항 및 행사계획 서울특별시 · 2026.9.30 · 관공서
- World-Class Drone Racing Takes to Seoul's Skies, with Around 60 Competitors from 10 Countries 서울특별시(영문 누리집) · 2026.9.21 · 관공서
- 2026 Seoul Drone Racing World Cup & Seoul Drone Soccer Open International Cup 한국모형항공협회(대회 누리집) · 주최
- 드론체험 — 시민을 위한 드론체험존 한국모형항공협회(대회 누리집) · 주최
- FPV Drone Racing 대회 요강·일정 한국모형항공협회(대회 누리집) · 주최
- Drone Soccer 대회 요강 한국모형항공협회(대회 누리집) · 주최
- Gwangnaru Hangang Park (Drone Park) 서울특별시(영문 누리집) · 관공서
- 광나루한강공원 주차정보 서울특별시 미래한강본부 · 관공서
- 광나루 오시는길 서울특별시 미래한강본부 · 관공서
This is a guide based on official announcements, not a visit review. Schedules, programs and fees can change, so please re-check the official notice before you go.
Translated from our Korean post with AI assistance. Dates, times, fees and other numbers were checked against the Korean original on October 7, 2026. We did not check whether the hands-on programs are offered in English. Original post (Korean)