3D Korea International Film Festival (3D 한국국제영화제) in Gwangju, November 17th through 21st.

The third annual 3D Korea International Film Festival (3D 한국국제영화제) will be held in Gwangju from November 17th through the 21st, it was announced on Wednesday. The festival's site has a list of movies and a schedule, in English and Korean.

Yeosu Marching Band Festival (여수마칭페스티발): October 20th and 21st.

The second Yeosu Marching Festival (여수마칭페스티발) will be held on October 20th and 21st.

Smaller mud festivals in Yeonggwang, Gochang counties this July and August.

If you'd like to try out a mud festival in Korea but don't want to deal with the overcrowding, the drunks, and the pervy photographers that are associated the famous one in Boryeong, there are a couple other options in the Jeolla provinces.



Yeonggwang county will be holding its 3rd annual Mud Marathon Festival (머드마라톤대회축제) on July 30th and 31st. The actual "mud runs" will take place the morning of Sunday the 31st (registration closed July 15th, but hey I gave you plenty of advance notice), though other performances and activities are scheduled, including a mud slide, mud sleds, and tug-of-war. A Korean-language program is available on the website. County buses run from the bus terminal in Yeonggwang-eup to Yeomsan-myeon and Baekbaui Beach (백바위해수욕장).

And check out Jeollabuk-do's Gochang county the next weekend for a similar set of events (전국갯벌스포츠축제). Hat tip to the Gwangju News editor for that one.

2011 Muju Firefly Festival (무주반딧불축제): June 3rd - 11th.

Got some hits recently from people looking for information about Muju's annual firefly festival (무주반딧불축제). This year it opened on June 3rd and will run from June 11th, in Jeollabuk-do's Muju county.


Both posters taken from the official festival website, making a strong push to win the award for "Most pop-ups on a website in 2011."

I've written about it several times in the past

* June 4, 2008: 2008 Muju Firefly Festival: June 7th - June 15th.
* June 16, 2008: 2008 Muju Festival
* June 2, 2009: 2009 Muju Firefly Festival (2009 무주반딧불축제)

and said that although it's special to me because it's where I went with my wife on our first date (awww), I didn't see a single firefly. Though one obscure poet wrote that it was the Japanese who exterminated the fireflies---a poem known only because it turned up deep in the Google search results---the scarcity is actually due to climate change, as Kim Jong-Gill at the National Institute of Agricultural Science & Technology wrote in a 2002 issue of Koreana (.pdf file)

Only 20 to 30 years ago fireflies were a common sight, but now they have become a nostaligic rarity, highlighted on television shows. In recent years, their natural habitats have been increasingly destroyed and disturbed through environmental damage resulting from the modernization of rural areas and changes in agricultural methods involving excessive reliance on pesticides and chemical fertilizers, as well as street lights that interfere with the ability of fireflies to communicate with each other. Indeed, with all these challenges to its survivability, it is no wonder that firefly sightings are so infrequent nowadays.

Commenters have also written on this site that the appearances are hit-or-miss depending on the weather.

The festival is held in the county seat, Muju-eup, accessible from Jeollanam-do by buses that run to Muju by way of Namwon, Jangsu, and other smaller towns along the way. There are seven buses a day from Gwangju, with three leaving in the afternoon: 13:20, 15:00, and 17:00. One big improvement festival organizers could make, besides getting more fireflies, would be to operate shuttles between Muju-eup and neighboring cities. Going to and from the festival is a challenge without your own transportation, since the last bus leaves Muju rather early, and the few motels in town aren't enough to accommodate the thousands of visitors.

May 2011 festivals in Jeollanam-do.

Spring and fall are two excellent times for travelling around Jeollanam-do because of the dozens of festivals large and small taking place in its cities, towns, and villages. Here's a brief look at some of the bigger ones; a Naver search and a look around local websites will be your friend for more boring ones others.


Hampyeong Butterfly Festival (함평나비대축제) in Hampyeong country through May 10th. One of the region's better-known festivals, it's essentially a nice walk through a big park, I concluded during a 2009 visit it's somewhat lacking in butterflies in a natural setting (at least for those who come from places with abundant nature). A short walk from the bus terminal in Hampyeong-eup, in turn accessible by regular buses from Gwangju. Times available from the Gwangju U-Square terminal website, in Korean.



Damyang Bamboo Festival (담양대나무축제) in Damyang county from May 3rd through May 8th. One of the province's representative sites, it's a short bus ride from Gwangju. Worth a visit anytime during the spring and summer months, the festival offers the usual, um, festivities.



Shinan Heuksan Skate Festival (산안흑산홍어축제) on May 6th and 7th. One of the two big hongeo festivals in Jeollanam-do celebrating the region's affinity for the acquired taste of fermented skate. Somewhat out of the way on Heuksan-do, one of the 1,004 islands that comprise Shinan county, those with time and an interest in seeing an even more remote part of Jeollanam-do would probably enjoy the trip.


Jeamsan Azalea Festival (제암산철쭉제) on Mt. Jeam in Jangheung county on May 8th.


Seomjin River Azalea Festival (섬진강 철길 철쭉축제) in Gokseong county on May 7th and 8th.



Boseong Green Tea Festival (보성녹차대축제) in Boseong county from May 4th through the 8th. The tea fields in Boseong have provided this blog's header for years, and the area is worth a visit for anyone living, um, in the area. It offers the usual stuff, plus green tea samgyeopsal, green tea noodles, green tea ice cream, and green tea green tea. Buses run regularly to the main field from the terminal in Boseong-eup, and there is a small entrance fee.



Suncheon Nagan Folk Culture Festival (순천낙안민속문화축제) in Suncheon's Nagan Folk Village from May 13th through the 15th. In one of my favorite places in Jeollanam-do, here are some posts and pictures from previous years: from May 2008, October 2008, and an unblogged set from May 2009. The folk village is accessible from downtown Suncheon via city buses 61 and 63 (timetable, in Korean), and when you get off at the village you'll find a timetable for buses returning to town.

2011 Yeongsanpo Skate Festival (영산포홍어축제): April 22nd - 24th.

Short notice with this---an earlier search told me it was actually scheduled for last week---but the 2011 Yeongsanpo Skate Festival (영산포홍어축제) will take place in Naju from April 22nd through 24th. Skate (홍어, hongeo) is ray that when eaten raw tastes, and smells, sort of like a cleaning product, but which has a strong enough following to inspire festivals in Naju and Shinan county. You'll find a little more information on the festival from the Naju city announcement, in Korean, and you'll find buses that stop in Yeongsanpo from Gwangju, Suncheon, most towns in western Jeollanam-do, as well as from Naju itself.


A big catch a few years ago, from Naver via this post.

Naju has a lot of historical points of interest but doesen't get as much attention as Gyeongju or even Buyeo, but is worth a visit all the same. It used to be a major port city during Japanese occupation, and Yeongsanpo still has a few architectural reminders, the old lighthouse in the poster above being one of them.

Tulip, Slow-Walking festivals on Jeollanam-do islands this April.

The Cheongsando Slow Walking Festival(청산도슬로우걷기축제) is held each year on Wando county's Cheongsan island, probably the best-known of Jeollanam-do's much-publicized "Slow Cities" (paradoxical in times like this). There's an English-language overview here, though the highlights are the views of the sea and flowery hillsides. Buses run to Wando from Seoul, Gwangju, Gangjin, and Haenam, and from the Wando bus terminal you can catch a ferry to Cheongsan island (schedule here, in Korean). Now through April 30th.


From the official site's photo gallery.

The Shinan Tulip Festival (신안튤립축제) takes place from April 15th through 24th. It's held at Daegwang Beach (대광해수욕장) on Imja-do, an island of roughly 4,000 in Shinan county, one of the three counties in Jeollanam-do comprised entirely of islands. Imja-do is accessible by ferry from the terminal in Jido-eup (점암선착장), and Jido-eup is in turn connected to the mainland. The bottom of this page has ferry times and fees, in Korean. Buses make the two-and-a-half hour trip from Gwangju's bus terminal to 점암선착장---making several stops in between---each day at 6:45, 7:45, 8:20, 9:50, 11:30, 13:20, 14:25, 16:00, and 18:55, and buses from Mokpo head to Jido nearly once an hour, though in both cases make sure you check at the ticket counter and with the driver.

Cherry blossoms in Jeollanam-do, and more flower festival cancellations.

The Korea Meterological Administration says Jeollanam-do can expect cherry blossoms from April 2nd, about a week later than in 2010. There are several "spots" in Jeollanam-do regionally-known for its cherry blossoms, and though Suncheon isn't really on that list I think it belongs there because of its beauty and its visitor-friendliness.



More on cherry blossoms in Suncheon.

Several flower festivals in Jeollanam-do this April have been cancelled due to foot-and-mouth disease. These include the Yeongchuisan Azalea Festival (영취산진달래축제) in Yeosu, the Wangin Culture Festival (영암왕인문화축제) in Yeongam, the Seomjin River Cherry Blossom Festival (섬진강변 벚꽃축제) in Gurye, and the Yudalsan Flower Festival (유달산꽃축제) in Mokpo.



Like other cancelled festivals based on natural events, these blossoms won't be cancelled, just some of the accompanying festivities, so don't hesitate to go and take in the sights.

50,000 attend first day of Jindo Sea-Parting.

The 34th annual Jindo Sea-Parting Festival (or Jindo Sea Road Festival 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제) was one of several early-spring cancelled in February and March because of concerns over foot-and-mouth disease. However, 50,000 people---including 2,000 foreigners by Yonhap's estimation---participated in the twice-yearly sea-parting event between Gogumyeon's Hoedong-ri and the small island of Modo. The tide goes out and opens a 2.8-kilometer path, though on the 19th people could only walk out roughly 40 meters, according to the article.

In 2010, according to a Newsis article, 440,000 tourists attented the festival, among them 25,000 foreigners.

2011 Jindo Sea-Parting, Gwangyang International Apricot festivals cancelled.

One of Jeollanam-do's best-known festivals, the Jindo Sea-Parting Festival (or Jindo Sea Road Festival, 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제) has been cancelled because of concerns over the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The festival was scheduled to run March 19th through 21st. From the official site last month:

제34회 진도신비의바닷길축제 취소 안내문

지난 1년 동안 제34회 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제를 많은 관심과 애정으로 기다려 오신 국·내외 관광객 여러분! 그리고 진도군민 여러분!

지난해 11월부터 전국적으로 발생한 구제역으로부터 청정지역인 전라남도의 확산방지와 이로 인한 우리군 축산농가의 피해를 예방하기 위하여 고심한 끝에 3년 연속 문화체육관광부 우수 축제로 선정된 제34회 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제를 부득이 취소하게 되었음을 알려드립니다.

비록 아쉽게도 축제는 취소하게 되었지만 신비의 바닷길 현상을 보기 위해 자율적으로 방문하는 관광객들을 위해 관광안내 및 편의 제공 등 불편함이 없도록 최선을 다할 계획입니다.

그동안 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제에 많은 관심과 성원을 보내주신 모든 분들께 거듭 감사말씀 드리며, 내년 신비의 바닷길 축제는 더욱 새롭고 다양한 프로그램을 준비하여 모시도록 하겠습니다.

감사합니다.

2011. 2.

진 도 군

Starting last December dozens of festivals large and small have been cancelled because of concerns over the disease's spread during South Korea's largest FMD outbreak in years.

The Gwangyang Apricot Festival---in its 15th year and calling itself the "Gwangyang International Apricot Festival" for no real reason---has also been cancelled because of foot-and-mouth disease worries. It's annually heralded as the country's first festival of spring, and was scheduled this year to run from March 12th through March 20th.


Notice from the festival's official site.

The actual blossoms won't be cancelled, and as I mentioned in 2009 you'll still find plenty to do with a trip to Hadong county.

2011 Gwangyang "International" Maehwa Festival and other March events in Jeollanam-do.

Spring and fall are two big festival seasons in Jeollanam-do, with a good dozen festivals worth visiting. Pickings are slim in March, and may be even slimmer if festivals are cancelled this month due to foot-and-mouth disease (like they were in December and January), but there are a few big ones coming up.

The annual Gwangyang Apricot Blossom Festival (광양매화축제) will be called the Gwangyang International Apricot Blossom Festival (광양국제매화축제) for the first time in 2011, apparently for no real reason ("광양 매화축제, 이름만 '국제'" ), though domestic festivals are known to do this to sound more, well, international. It will run from March 12th through the 20th.


The Gwangyang Apricot Blossom Festival is usually the first spring festival, and marks the beginning of the season for southerners.

Both of my attempts to visit it were unsuccessful: once because I couldn't find the bus and another time because it was too damn cold. Your best bet is to take a bus to Hadong county in Gyeongsangnam-do and walk through town into Gwangyang. You'll find apricot blossoms along the river and will pass through a small market and festival area before finding the shuttle buses that will take you to the Apricot Blossom Village (매화마을). The official website hasn't been updated since last year. See this post of my half-visit in 2009 for more information.

In Gurye county the annual Sansuyu Festival (산수유꽃축제) runs from March 17th through the 20th. The official site hasn't been updated since last year, though it tells you buses run regularly from the terminal in Gurye-eup.



And, the regionally-famous Jindo Sea Road Festival (진도 신비의 바닷길 축제), known also as the Sea-Parting Festival and the Jindo Moses Miracle, will take place from March 19th through the 21st. A few times a year the tide goes out and allows people to walk the 2.8 kilometers between two small islands in Jindo county. The program on the homepage is still under construction, though you'll want to take care to visit on the day when you can actually walk between the two islands. In addition to wading into the sea there is the sort of food and performances you'll find at every Jeollanam-do festival, as well as Jindo dogs and other entertainment.



Here's a profile on the Sea-Parting Festival from the Korea Tourism Organization, and pictures from Jindo's biggest blogger, Living Life Frame by Frame, here and here. Accommodation will be scarce, so if you're from out of town I recommend you find a motel in one of the nearest transportation hubs: love motels are plentiful outside of the bus terminals in Gwangju and Suncheon, for example.

2011 Bugok Hawaii Ice Sculpture Festival through January 30th.

The Bugok Hawaii (부곡하와이) resort and theme park in Gyeongsangnam-do's Changnyeong county is hosting the third annual Ice Sculpture Festival (부곡하와이 얼음나라 얼음조각축제) through January 30th.




(1, 2, 3)

A photograph from the festival, which started on December 24th, was one of the JoongAng Daily's photos of the day for January 17th. Buses run regularly from Busan, Daegu, Masan, and Gimhae, and four times a day from Seoul.

Wando winter swim cancelled.

The Wando winter swim (건강의 섬 완도 겨울바다 수영 대회) I mentioned last week has, like many other rural festivals this time of year, has been cancelled due to concerns over foot-and-mouth disease.

전남 완도군은 30일 "구제역 확산을 막기 위해 해맞이 축제를 취소한데 이어 다음 달 7일 예정된 '2011년 완도 겨울바다 돌핀 수영대회'도 취소한다"고 밝혔다.

It was scheduled for January 7th at Myeongsashimni Beach.

24th Polar Bear Swim (북극곰수영대회) at Haeundae Beach: January 23, 2011.

The 24th Polar Bear Swim (북극곰수영대회) will be held at Busan's Haeundae Beach on January 23rd, with registration open from January 4th through 13th.



There is an English-language (and Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) registration page, with the 20,000 won entry fee being wired to a Hana Bank account.

Foot-and-mouth disease means many sunrise and sunset festival cancellations in Jeollanam-do.

Shortly after a February 2008 sunrise at Busan's Haeundae beach.

The last sunset of the year and the first of the next are events celebrated in counties and cities throughout the country. I had planned a brief overview of festivals happening in Jeollanam-do, but unfortunately the most notable ones have been cancelled over concerns of foot-and-mouth disease. These include the sunrise and sunset festivals at Haenam county's "Land's Edge" (which posted the following message on the 24th on the official webpage)

해남 땅끝마을에서 개최예정이었던
제15회 땅끝해넘이해맞이축제 및 울돌목거북배 선상해맞이 행사를
최근 구제역이 전국적으로 확산됨에 따라 부득이 취소키로 결정하였음을 알려드리오니,
이점 양지하시기 바랍니다

그동안 행사의 성공적 개최를 위해 각계각층에서 보내주신 성원에 감사드리며
내년에는 더욱 알차고 차별화된 축제로 발전시킬 것을 약속드립니다.

and the sunrise festivals at Goheung's Namyeol Beach, at Yeongam Lake, Wando, and Yeosu's Hyangiram.

Wando winter swim (건강의 섬 완도 겨울바다 수영 대회): January 7, 2011.

Wando's Myeongsashimni Beach---arguably the best in the province---will host a winter swim on January 7th. Probably best written as a Polar Bear Swim in English, it's known in Korean as "건강의 섬 완도 겨울바다 수영 대회" to incorporate the county's slogan. Registration is open to the first 500 people through January 5th. The registration form is online here, as an .hwp file; contact 061-550-5481 for more information.

Buses head to the beach from the terminal in Wando, in turn accessible from the Gwangju U-Square terminal.

Eseul Village Happy Christmas Festival, December 22nd - 26th.

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.

Winter Lighting Festival (오색별빛정원전) at Gapyeong's Garden of Morning Calm: December 3, 2010 - February 28, 2011.

The 4th annual Lighting Festival (오색별빛정원전) at the Garden of Morning Calm (아침고요구목원) will run from December 3rd through February 28th, 2010. Little English-language information is available, though the Korean-language website tells us the lights will be on display from 5:30 to 8:30 and that the festival is accessible by buses to Changpyeong and then by local buses to the garden. A Korea.net write-up a few years ago---no longer available online---says there are over a million lights spread throughout the site's five themed gardens.



From two years ago (1, 2)

Commenters have left their thoughts about past years' festivals on previous posts. Jim writes:

I went there yesterday, pretty amazing but was the coldest day of the year so bad timing on my part. My 3 year old absolutely loved it and I was impressed with the work that must have gone into it.

From ROK Drop:

The valley the garden sits in is actually quite scenic but it is a nightmare trying to get there because of the traffic that gets backed up on the winding road into the valley. Then once there the place is overfilled with people and really not enjoyable.

I have only been there a couple of times on the weekend. I am willing to bet if you go on a weekday it will probably be more enjoyable due to smaller crowds.

And Mr Rocky Top:

I went there last year the day after Christmas. The traffic wasn't bad, and there weren't that many people there. I would definitely recommend it as something Christmasy to experience.

To close, here is a video taken at the garden last year:

Boseong Tea Plantation Light Festival (보성차밭 빛의 축제), December 17, 2010 - February 6, 2011.

The annual Boseong Tea Plantation Light Festival (보성차밭 빛의 축제) will take place from December 17th, 2010 through February 6th, 2011---roughly from Christmas through the Lunar New Year---at Boseong county's best-known attraction.

At the bus terminal in Boseong county, accessible via numerous buses from Gwangju and Suncheon, there are signs in English and Korean instructing you how to purchase tickets to the plantation. I went to the Light Festival last year on what was about the damn coldest day of the winter. The lights aren't strung in the main plantation viewing station---where people take pictures like the one in my header---but rather to the left and up the hill from where the bus will drop you off.


From December 2005.

Gwangju International Film Festival (광주국제영화제), December 9th - 12th.

The 10th Gwangju International Film Festival (광주영화제) will run from December 9th to 12th at the Megabox downtown (map). Under the program tab on the official site you'll find lists of the dozen or so films playing, though information is limited in Korean: times, locations, and subtitle choices are not yet posted under the 상영안내 tab.

The English tab looks to be just for decoration.