Dajeon Family Culture festival takes place for three days in mid-May every year, in an area around Ppuri Park in Jung-gu, Daejeon, where filial piety has been highly respected. The festival features hands-on experience programs and events reflecting traditional family culture and filial piety. Four traditional ceremonies (coming of age, wedding, funeral, ancestral rites) will be demonstrated. A parade of 136 clans will take place, and an exhibition will display unique clan traditions and stories about each clan. Performances by collage traditional performance teams, a fusion music festival, and street food markets will also be held.

The mask play of Hahoe Byeolsingut Exorcism itself, performed first by merchants in Andong Hahoe Village around mid 12th century is designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 69. Hahoe Village, a clan village of the Pungsan Ryu family, preserves the traditional Korean way of life. The entire village has been designated as Important Folklore Material No.122. The mask dance performance has been performed to wish for much happiness and a good harvest for the village. Event Programs: Byeolsingut Exorcism means an unusual and uncommon form of exorcism. In an agricultural society, a good harvest was considered to be the key factor of the village’s survival and the villages performed a sacrificial rite to pray to the heavens for an ever-lasting and bountiful harvest. As an act of incantation, the mask dance is made up of 10 episodes with a satirical story of former nobleman. The 10 episodes include: the ‘Gang Shin Episode’ (an invocatory rite of a would-be medium), the ‘Mudong Episode’ (the doll bride enters the stage), the ‘Juji Episode’ (Juji is an imaginary animal), the ‘Butcher Episode’ (a character butchers a cow without any hesitation), the ‘Granny Episode’ (the sorrow and joy of the lives of the public can be felt), the ‘Depraved Monk Episode’ (it satirizes the depraved monks and Buddhism at the end of the Goryeo dynasty), the ‘Nobleman Episode’ (it satirizes the hypocrisy and affectation of former noblemen), the ‘Dang Je’ (a ritual service for putting God back in his first place), the ‘Wedding Episode’ (the doll bride and the scholar marry) and the ‘Bridal Room Episode’ (describing their honeymoon).

Mungyeong Traditional Chasabal (tea cup) Festival will be held in the area of Mugyeongsaejae in Gyeongsangbuk-do. The festival will have thematic events with a story about pottery makers throwing clay on the potter’s wheel.Mungyeong also features Mangdaengi, the oldest kiln in Korea. The festival aims to retain its identity as the top place for traditional ceramics and also spread its reputation across the country as the birthplace of tea culture.The festival aims to improve the regional culture and make Mungyeong a traditional Korean cultural brand as well as strengthen the bond of the local community.The world class cultural brand attracts international and domestic visitors experiencing the traditions of Korea.

The Pohang International Fireworks Festival is held at Yeongildae Beach in Pohang, which is also known as the “City of Light and Fire.” The festival features a fireworks competition, a parade of lights, street performances, and a range of hands-on activities. It is usually held around the end of July.

The Yeongdeok Snow Crab Festival is an annual event that celebrates local snow crabs, which were once served to the kings. Among festival highlights, the Snow Crab Public Auction as well as the snow crab market are the most popular. In addition, visitors can ride a snow crab fishing boat, participate in a snow crab cooking competition, and sample various snow crab dishes for free.

Pung-gi ginseng is only grown in the Sobaeksan Mountains and is widely known for its superior quality. The reason Pung-gi ginseng is so highly valued is because of its high content of saponin, which is effective in regulating blood pressure and reenergizing the body. It is even believed to help reduce the risk of cancer. The Pung-gi Ginseng Festival coincides with the peak of the harvest season each year, which takes place around October. During the festival period, visitors can participate in various events, such as harvesting ginseng and sampling cuisine made from the expensive Pung-gi ginseng. There are also many other tourist attractions located in the Yeongju region, including Buseoksa Temple and Sobaeksan Pung-gi Hot Springs.

Daegaya (42-562) was a nation that inhabited the Gyeongsangnam-do province of Korea around the 4th Century. Daegaya was a sophisticated nation that even at this early age possessed extremely high standards of culture. They created the Gayageum (a twelve-stringed traditional Korean harp) and played a large role in establishing the culture of music. They had dealings with China and Japan and excavated relics indicate they had a significant influence on the wider world. This festival will immerse visitors in the ancient history of Korea’s ‘Daegaya’. The festival program includes an exhibition of ancient relics, and visitors can take part in making Mokseons (wooden ships) that the Daegaya nation used to trade with other societies. The festival grounds are connected with a nearby farming village so visitors can pick strawberries and experience the Korean farming lifestyle.

Bonghwa Eun-uh (Sweet Smelt) Festival, held in Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, offers numerous participatory programs including sweet smelt fishing, underwater race and quiz show. Sweet smelt fishing, the festival’s highlight, is held two times a day during the week, and three times on Saturdays. Winners of the underwater race and the quiz show will receive local specialty products as prizes. Moreover, there are several educational and cultural programs including a freshwater fish exhibition featuring trout and other species, a sweet smelt ecology center where visitors can observe the natural environment that the fish live in, the Korean Currency Museum, Bonghwa tourist photo center, sweet smelt painting, ceramic, hanji (Korean traditional paper) handicraft, and stone inscription.  

Homigot, the main venue of the Homigot Sunrise Festival, is located on the easternmost point of the Korean Peninsula. Homigot means ‘village on a tiger’s tale’ and is also the location for the first sunrises in Korea.The festival includes local cultural performances, a New Year celebratory event, fire show, sunrise concert and other diverse performances. Visitors may sample free tteokguk, a traditional New Year’s Day dish, during the special event of ‘Serving tteokguk for 10,000’. Other events such as kite-flying and launching hope balloons with wishes attached will provide enjoyable moments to reflect on the previous year and create new year resolutions.

* The festival is postponed until further notice. The Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival celebrates the long tradition of bullfighting in the Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Drawing over half a million visitors annually since its inception in 1999, the festival is the largest bullfighting championship in the country. In addition to the bullfighting championship, the festival offers a number of exciting events including performances, hands-on experience programs, and exhibitions of the history of bullfighting, local agriculture, cows, etc.