Gyeonggi Province Selects 19 'Gyeonggi Representative Tourist Festivals' for 2025

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 11th that it has selected 19 'Gyeonggi Representative Tourist Festivals' for 2025, including the Yeoju Okok Naru Festival, to intensively foster regional flagship festivals and revitalize the local economy.

Starting this year, the province elevated the status of the festivals by changing the name from 'Gyeonggi Tourism Festival' to 'Gyeonggi Representative Tourist Festival.' The provincial subsidy budget was also expanded from a minimum of 50 million won to a maximum of 100 million won last year to 200 million won each for the top 10 festivals by evaluation ranking and 150 million won for the remaining 9 festivals.

The selected festivals are: △Yangpyeong Yongmun Mountain Wild Vegetables Festival △Icheon Ceramic Festival △Yeoju Ceramic Festival △Goyang Haengjusan Culture Festival △Colorful Garden Jara Island Flower Festa △Yangju Hoeuamsa Historic Site Royal Festival △Gimpo Arama Marine Festival △Dongducheon Rock Festival △Suwon Jazz Festival △Goyang Lake Art Festival △Bucheon International Cartoon Festival △Yangju Ten Million Cockscomb Flower Festival △Anyang Dance Festival △Jeongjo Filial Culture Festival △Yeoju Okok Naru Festival △Siheung Wolgot Port Festival △Dasan Jeong Yak-yong Culture Festival △Icheon Rice Culture Festival △Paju Jangdan Bean Festival (in order of holding dates).

Previously, the province received applications for 32 regional festivals from cities and counties through a public call in January, and made final selections after presentation evaluations on festival hosting plans and reviews by the Regional Festival Deliberation Committee. Starting with the Yangpyeong Yongmun Mountain Wild Vegetables Festival in April through the Paju Jangdan Bean Festival in November, a total of 19 festivals will be supported to convey diverse regional cultures and local values through various formats.

Among these, the Yeoju Okok Naru Festival, which received favorable responses from judges, plans to showcase a tribute parade based on the historical fact that central government officials of the Joseon Dynasty visited Yeoju and presented tribute rice to the king, along with experiences such as Yeoju rice bibimbap food tasting and a world record-breaking performance with roasted sweet potatoes, to showcase Yeoju's unique regional characteristics. The Bucheon International Cartoon Festival, which is gaining strong support from younger audiences, is Korea's only festival with cartoons as its subject matter and plans to provide diverse attractions, entertainment, and experiential activities centered on 'cartoons.'

The Goyang Haengjusan Culture Festival plans to showcase various festival programs in May that reinterpret the historical and cultural value of Haengjusan Fortress and the Battle of Haengjusan in modern ways, including stone-throwing performances and combat performances, Haengjusan expedition ceremonies and victory ceremonies, and the musical 'Battle of Haengjusan.'

For festivals that were not selected this time, the province plans to provide individual consulting services to help them develop into representative festivals. The province will strengthen cooperation with cities and counties to ensure that representative festivals are held in an eco-friendly and safe manner, and will also make efforts to improve customer service by addressing inconveniences related to overpricing at festival venues.

Jang Hyang-jung, head of the Tourism Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Festivals with excellent content, planning, and operation have been selected as Gyeonggi Representative Tourist Festivals," and added, "With the tourism industry facing significant decline amid an economic crisis, we will systematically support the Gyeonggi Representative Tourist Festivals to grow and develop as sustainable and locally beneficial festivals."