Korea Tourism Offers Free Cultural Festivals Guidebook

Korea’s cultural tourism festivals are perhaps the best way for foreign visitors to understand the culture and traditions of this ancient country and have a lot of fun along the way. Korea Tourism Organization has published a special booklet ‘Cultural Tourism Festivals of Korea’ which will assist foreign visitors to decide which festivals they can actively enjoy the most.

Of the thousands of festivals held in Korea each year the Boryeong Mud Festival and the Andong Mask Dance Festival have become the most popular festivals with foreign visitors. The Boryeong Mud Festival nowadays draws huge crowds of young people who enjoy the festival atmosphere. Boryeong mud is rich in minerals and is good for the skin, but visitors are perhaps more interested in the various mud festival programs from enjoying a bath in a mega mud tub to mud wrestling, mud massages, and mud sliding. Boryeong has become known as Mud City to overseas visitors in recent years. This year’s mud festival will run from 12-20 July, 2008. Details at www.mudfestival.or.kr

The Andong International Mask Dance Festival is held in Andong, the home of Korea’s Confucian culture. At nearby Hahoe Village which has been designated as one of Korea’s Cultural Heritages, visitors can enjoy the spectacle of the unique mask dance performances in the pine tree forests and join in many folk games and events. This year’s festival will take place from 26 September to 5 October, 2008. More info at www.maskdance.com

Try your hand at making some Korean Celadon pottery at the Gangjin Celadon Cultural Festival taking place from 9-17 August, 2008. Gangjin was a central production site for the world famous blue green celadon for over 500 years and more than 80 per cent of the nation’s celadons designated as national treasures were made in Gangjin. Festival highlights visit www.gangjinfes.or.kr

Korean ginseng is known around the world for its remarkable medicinal effects. The popular Ginseng Festival will be held from 29 August to 7 September, 2008 in the prime growing area of Geumsan. Here you can see how ginseng grows, learn about its health benefits and enjoy traditional folk dance and music events. See www.insamfestival.co.kr

If you would like to see the 1,600 year history of Korean Paper Art (Hanji) then Wonju City is where you can see the entire paper-making process and visitors can enjoy a hands on paper craft making experience. The Wonju Hanji Paper Art Festival will be held from 24-28 September this year. Full details at www.wjhanji.co.kr

The Gwangju Kimchi Festival occurs in the autumn when Korean households around the country are preparing their supply of Kimchi for the coming winter months.

Here you can enjoy many events like the national kimchi cooking contest and get your hands all messy making your own kimchi. Kimchi is Korea’s number one dish and Koreans can’t live without it, like Australians and vegemite. Full details of the festival which takes place from 15-19 October, 2008 at www.kimchi.gwangju.kr

To discover more of Korea’s many festival events and to plan your trip around around one of Korea’s exciting festival events contact the Sydney office of Korea Tourism Organization for your free Cultural Tourism Festivals of Korea guidebook
Phone: 02)9252-4147/8 or Email: visitkorea@knto.org.au Details of all festivals are also available at the official travel website for Korea www.visitkorea.or.kr