Busan(Haeundae-gu) , Haeundae

The Busan International Short Film Festival started in the 1980s as the ‘Korea Short Film Festival,’ introducing a variety of domestic short films including 8mm films and independent movies produced by university students and citizens. In 2000, the festival was renamed the ‘Busan Asian Short Film Festival’ and expanded to include short movies from all across Asia, many of which included popular Asian films of the year. As time went on, the festival once again expanded its scope to include films from around the world and was renamed the ‘Busan International Short Film Festival’ in 2010. When it first started, the festival laid a foundation for the development of Korean movies. The festival continues to stir up support and interest in short films, acting as a catalyst for the Korean short films industry.


Jeollanam-do(Wando-gun)

Seaweed is a living organism that is symbolic of the clean water zone in the depths of the sea, and is also one of the origins of marine organisms. Wando Seaweeds Expo includes a range of displays of marine algae, discussions over environmental concerns such as climate change and global warming, and prospects for “green growth” through seaweed. The expo shows the importance of seaweed as a food resource, and aims to bolster the domestic seaweed industry. The expo also aims to make Korea a leading nation in the seaweed industry through an active response to the growing demand for Korean seaweed. A range of activities have been arranged for visitors to the festival, held in the Wando Port district, which include an exhibition, hands-on programs, an international forum, conference, and other events. It is the first expo to be centered on the theme of a variety of seaweed including dried and sea mustard. The seaweed expo will be a venue for the exchange of seaweed-related information and technology for participants representing 60 corporations in 20 countries around the world.


Gangwon-do(Chuncheon-si)

Mulle-gil Festival is set to take place around the Uiamho Lake area and Songam-dong Sports Town in Chuncheon, the lakeside city of Gangwon Province. This year’s festival is divided into several categories including the Experience Zone, Camping Zone, Exhibition Zone, and Performance Zone. At the Performance Zone you may enjoy a wide variety of concerts and performing arts while the Mulle-gil Experience Zone features not only the canoe experience program, but also a variety of fun canoe contests like a Canoe Marathon, Family Slalom Contest (a hurdle dodging race), the 1-Person Freestyle Competition, and Family Luggage-carrying Race.


Gyeongsangnam-do(Geochang-gun)

Ulsan Whale Festival is held in the area of Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone. The area is equipped with more things that allow visitors to see this new cultural village, such as the whale museum, Jangsaengpo Whale Watching Cruise, and Jangsaengpo Whale Life Experience Museum. The new variety of sites at the festival will give visitors an extra level of fun and discovery.


Chungcheongnam-do(Nonsan-si)

Ganggyeong Salted Seafood Festival is known for its freshest and finest quality, which is made with recipes handed down from from generation to generation, retaining the unique, authentic taste of salted fermented fish.All the ingredients are imported directly and prepared in modern facilities. Today, the market accounts for half of the nation’s total sales of salted seafood.The Ganggyeong Festival has grown to become a major industrial festival in Korea, and originally started off in an effort to boost local economy and enhance the fish market merchants’ incomes in 1997 when the IMF financial crisis hit the nation. Salted fish merchants made the festival in a large-scale, getting bigger and better each year.Especially since 2007, the festival has changed its official title to Ganggyeong Fermented Seafood Festival. The festival has in the spotlight and has now established itself as a healthy fermented food item in the world food market, breaking away from the notion of being simply salted, preserved food.


Gangwon-do(Goseong-gun)

Every June, the areas around Eocheon-ri in Goseong-gun are covered with the purple lavender fields. During this season, many local and international visitors attend the annual Goseong Lavender Festival. This year, the festival will have a variety of programs, from exhibitions to performances.Some of these include a lavender photo exhibit and a photo contest at the farm and the village, as well as a photo gallery and a classical music concert, to name a few. The lucky draw event is something that should not be missed.


Gwangju(Buk-gu)

Gwangju Biennale is an international contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years. Taking place in 2014, the event marks 10th anniversay and will celebrate the importance of being together though the theme of “Burning Down the House (터전을 불태우라).” It will bring together many different people, different times, various roles in arts production, and numerous different positions toward power such as exist  in various social, political, and cultural situations. The biennale consists of an exhibition, several workshops, e-journals, books, and various programs such as residency programs and new commissions. [About the 2014's theme] Burning Down the Houseexplores the process of burning and transformation, a cycle of obliteration and renewal witnessed throughout history. Evident in aesthetics, historical events, and an increasingly rapid course of redundancy and renewal in commercial culture, the Biennale reflects on this process of, often violent, events of destruction or self-destruction―burning the home one occupies―followed by the promise of the new and the hope for change. In the 1930s the critic Walter Benjamin coined the term ‘Tigersprung’ (the tiger’s leap) for a new model of history where the past is activated in and through the present within a culture industry that demands constant renewal. What can the ‘Tigerspung’ mean for today’s ‘tiger economies’ like South Korea in a context where economic and political powers deliver the eternally new of fashionable commodities and industrial progress at the apparent expense of a cultural past? Burning Down the House looks at the spiral of rejection and revitalization that this process implies. The theme highlights the capacity of art to critique the establishment through an exploration that includes the visual, sound, movement and dramatic performance. At the same time, it recognises the possibility and impossibility within art to deal directly and concretely with politics. The energy, the materiality and processes of burning ― the manner in which material is changed and destroyed by flames into the residue of dramatic interventions or remnants of celebrations ― have long informed artistic practice. The transformative powers of fire are central to the way in which this exhibition has been imagined. -Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation  


Seoul(Jung-gu) , Seoul City Hall・Gwanghwamun

Jungdong Culture Festival brings an autumn ambience to Jeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. The festival is a main event in Seoul, and connects traditional Korea to the present.During the festival, the traditional craft center will host performances and exhibits in the Jeongdong-gil, the heart of the downtown area.


Seoul(Jung-gu) , Euljiro・Chungmuro・Namsan

Located in Jung-gu, Seoul, Namsangol Hanok Village will be hosting the 'Moonlight Fire Show, Daeboreum' event on February 22, 2016 from 17:00 to 19:00. Burning daljip, cracking bureom, and other seasonal customs related to Jeongwol Daeboreom will be offered for participants to enjoy.


Chungcheongnam-do(Seosan-si)

The Haemieupseong Fortress in Seosan City is the most intact fortress in Korea. Built around 600 years ago during the Joseon period, the fortress is a historically significant site where both the commander-in-chief of Chungcheong-do Province and the great Admiral Yi Sun-shin had once served. It is also a sacred ground of martyrs as nearly 1,000 Roman Catholics were executed in 1866. In modern times, the fortress served as the backdrop for the turbulent Donghak Peasants Revolution (1894) and Catholic Persecution.The Seosan Haemieupseong Festival offers a variety of exciting programs with a theme of the traditional Korean market. This includes diverse cultural performances such as tightrope walking, folk music, traditional orchestral music, and outdoor theatricals. Visitors to the festival will also have a chance to experience hands-on activities like traditional crafts, folk games, and drawing performances.