For those collecting information about obscure regional festivals, the 4th annual Eseul Village Happy Christmas Festival (제4회 이슬촌의 해피크리스마스축제) will run from December 22nd through the 26th in a Naju township. A Catholic Asian News article from 2008 talks a little about the "Christmas Village" and its Christmastime festivities:
Leafless trees, buildings and even farming vehicles glitter in every color as bands play, people sing carols and "Santa Clauses" entertain visitors. Christmas thus came alive from Dec. 19 to 23 in Eseulchon (village of dew), a Catholic farming village in Noan, Naju, about 280 kilometers south of Seoul.
Far more than Eseulchon's 170 residents have made it a "Christmas village." One village official told UCA News about 1,500 visitors came to the first such festival in 2007, and this year's festival has drawn twice as many.
Park Eun-jeong, 23, who came visiting from nearby Gwangju with her boyfriend, told UCA News: "It's really beautiful! I feel Christmas has already come. It's good for a village to celebrate Christmas with such a festival."
As the festival began, village head Anthony Kim Jong-gwan told UCA News that almost all 68 village families are Catholic. He said local people "naturally" became Catholics when a French missioner built Noan Church here 100 years ago. This designated cultural asset marked its centenary last November.
Taken from here, but I can't find the rest of the article online anymore. That entry has a few photos; here are a few more:
From CNBNews.com and Newsis.
More available on the "Christmas Village" site. Transportation information to and from Noan-myeon from local cities is scarce: you can try their number, 061-336-5159, for more.
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