Gyeonggi-do(Anyang-si)

The World Taekwondo Hanmadang is the global Taekwondo headquarters, and presents the true essence of Taekwondo's elements, including attacks, demonstrations, and self defense. Every year at the World Taekwondo Headquarters, an international Taekwondo competition is held in order to manifest the spirit of this martial art and to increase the unity of global Taekwondo martial artists. Since its first opening in 1992, the competition has become known as the world's leading authority for the tradition of Taekwondo. Through the World Taekwondo Hanmadang, participants can enhance the value of Taekwondo as a cultural consciousness, and also act as an instrument through which the superiority of Taekwondo's culture can be spread globally. In particular, it functions as an international Taekwondo instructional festival for those not well-versed in its practices, and through the tourism programs offered for international Taekwondo practitioners to visit the martial art's home country and headquarters, the event will serve as a commercializing opportunity to propel the spirit of Taekwondo further. With over 50 nations and over 5,000 attendees annually, in addition to the actual sparring events, through its display of poomsae, attacks, self defense, and Taekwondo gymnastics, it is making its mark as an international Taekwondo festival that highlights the elegant and sophisticated elements of this ancient martial art.


Jeju-do(Jeju-si) , TheWestern Part of the Jeju Island

The Jeongwol Daeboreum Field-Burning Festival, also known as the Jeju Fire Festival, has secured its position as one of the major festivals representing Jeju. It will light up Jeju with the theme: “Using fire to spread the message of hope out into space.”This year, the title of the festival has changed to the Jeju Field-Burning Festival. The festival period has also changed. It now runs from the first Thursday of March to the Sunday of the same week, also the time of gyungchip, a day marked in Korea for when animals end their hibernation and begin to come out of their holes and homes in preparation for spring.The Jeju Field-Burning Festival is for cattle and horses by burning off old and wilted grass, as well as to kill vermin on the fields. According to the tradition, from late winter until early spring, the local villagers would start a fire on the fields. This was called bangae, one of the oldest stock farming skills. The festival has reinterpreted this tradition with a modern look and made itself a marketable tourism product.The festival started off in 1997 and has become one of the major winter festivals in Jeju since 1999. It is now notable across not just the nation, but internationally as well, as it was certified as a recommended festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2001. A festival magazine also nominated this festival as number one amongst the other top festivals in Korea. The Jeju Field-Burning Festival means “spring in the air” and thus marks the celebration of the arrival of spring, and the festival will entertain visitors with a variety of activities and programs in addition to  field burning.


Gyeonggi-do(Yeoju-si) , Yeoju

Yeoju has been producing ceramics ever since the early Goryeo period (AD 918-1392), and through the production of high-quality Goryeongto (Kaolin) and Baekto (white clay), it played an integral role in the development of the early ceramic industry. Yeoju laid the foundations for becoming a major ceramic city by hosting the World Ceramics Expo in 2001. And since hosting the World Ceramics Biennale in 2003 and 2005, it is now internationally recognized as a world center for ceramics.Started in May 1990, the Yeoju Ceramic Festival is held every year to promote the excellence of its ceramics both nationwide and abroad. As the first and best ceramic festival in Korea, the festival exhibits unique, high quality ceramic artwork and products. At the festival, you can see works of art by ceramics masters and buy a variety of ceramic products at discounted prices.


Seoul(Songpa-gu)

The Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival is held at Peace Square of Olympic Park in Seoul. The festival is a leading traditional cultural festival of Seoul, highlighting the 493 years of history and culture of Hanseong Baekje.Hanseong Baekje refers to the era between 18 BCE and 275 CE of Baekje - one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla-- before it moved its capital to Ungjin (now Gongju) in 475. The festival features various folk performances, musical, family concert, food festival, and photo contest.The Peace Square of the Olympic Park, which is the venue of the festival, can be accessed from Mongchontoseong station on Seoul Subway Line 8 (Exit 1, 200 meters from the station; it takes 7 minutes-10 minutes on foot).


Seoul(Seongdong-gu) , The Eastern Part of the Seoul

Hangang Summer Festival (or Hangang Mongttang Festival) is the largest riverside culture festival held annual, enjoyed by visitors and citizens of Seoul alike. Programs are organized by the Hangang Project Headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Government in cooperation with various civic organizations, transforming the Hangang River into a joy-filled playground. Activities found at the event grounds and participating organizations span a wide variety of sectors, including: camping, water leisure sports, concerts, film screenings, street festivals, cycling, paper boat racing, fire art, and traditional art performances.


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Ganjeolgot Cape in Ulsan offers visitors impressive views of the sunrise and is part of the New Year’s Sunrise Festival every December. The festival starts at sunset on the 31st with cultural events followed by a year-end concert. In addition, fireworks displays, enjoying tteokguk (traditional Korean new years dish) and a wide range of performances fill the evening and last through the night. Visitors may also enjoy the “Starlight Observatory” and a 3-D production about Ganjeolgot Cape and the Ulsan area.


Gyeonggi-do(Goyang-si) , Ilsan

The special exhibition of the Korean TV drama "My Love from the Star," which was met with huge popularity in many parts of Asia, has moved from Art Hall 1 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) to Ilsan Kintex (Korea International Exhibition Center). Both domestic and international visitors are welcome to the event, which is to be held at the outdoor venue of Exhibition Center II in Kintex. Actual film sets where indoor scenes of the show were shot will be open to the public, and drama props and costumes will also be on display. Also, visitors can take a virtual photo with Do Min-jun and Chen Song-i, the main characters of the show, using the CGI technology Chromakey, Timeslice, as well as the 3D video image exhibition. What's more, specially added features for this exhibition offer fans an opportunity to be a TV presenter and weather forecaster for a day, as well as trying their hand at producing a news program and soap opera. The whole exhibition gives visitors a chance to experience hallyu to the fullest.


Gangwon-do(Hoengseong-gun)

Every year, Hanu (Korean native cattle) Festival takes places in Hoengseong County, where the climate and the environment are said to be perfect for raising cattle. The festival attracts a large number of people, who come to try the usually expensive Hoengseong hanu beef at affordable prices, along with another specialty of Hoengseong County, deodeok (mountain bellflower). In addition to food sampling, the festival holds diverse agriculture experience programs, while offering access to nearby attractions such as Hoengseong Hot Springs and Jucheongang River Natural Forest Lodge.


Seoul(Jung-gu) , Myeongdong

NANTA is one of Korea's top performances, a show about four chefs who must prepare a wedding banquet in just one hour. The plot is depicted through various genres of performances, including percussion that uses kitchen utensils to make beats based on traditional rhythms of samulnori (traditional percussion quartet). The entire show has no spoken dialogue, yet plenty of comedy and romance, too. Meanwhile, since its debut in October 1997, NANTA (also known as Cookin') has earned international acclaim, having been performed on Broadway and at other famous venues worldwide. * Note Due to the MERS outbreak, some performances will be discontinued until July 2015.


Gyeongsangbuk-do(Cheongdo-gun)

* 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.