Making the Most of Korean Festivals in 2012

The Eobang or Fishers' Festival on Gwangan Beach, Busan

The arrival of spring on the Korean peninsula marks a new season and a wonderful opportunity to try new and exciting things! This year, I suggest that you attend one of the hundreds of festivals taking place in Korea. I've been living and working in Korea for over two years now, and I never tire of the unique and interesting festivals and cultural activities that this beautiful little country has to offer. Even though I've attended my fair share of festivals, I still keep my eyes peeled for new ones that will entertain and introduce me to new aspects of Korea's scenery, life, and culture. Here are a few of my tips for enjoying yourself on the festival circuit this year.


1) Do something that's out of your comfort zone
Whether you are Korean or foreign, a resident of the area or just visiting, ask yourself, "When will I have the opportunity to try this again?" The answer may be, "Never!" in which case you should give that activity your best shot. Who knows? You just may like it. This is how I came to try barehanded fishing and eel-trapping, and to discover that I was good at both activities!

Korean boys trying out  널뛰기 (Nol Ttwigi), a traditional seesaw game
for Chuseok activities at Gyeongbukgong Palace, Seoul

Ice-fishing might not be for everyone,
but you won't know until you try!

2) Eat the local food, and try something unusual
Every time I attend a festival, I reserve my change and small bills exclusively for sampling the tasty local treats that are offered. It doesn't matter what it is, I've just got to try it! Every area in the country is known for a prized cuisine, and that's the one that you should spend your money on. It's easy to find the local specialty, since it's usually located in the tent, stand, or booth with the long line of hungry-looking Koreans in front of it! Without experimenting at festival food tents,  I never would have discovered the deliciousness that is barbecued eel, fried ginger, or bokbunja, a kind of black raspberry wine.

계란빵 (Gye-ran Bbang) or egg bread, a tasty winter treat

Barbecued squid, served hot off the grill in the summer

Tasty grilled fish, caught fresh at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival

Makkeolli, beer and Bokbunja wine, flavoured with black raspberries

3) Celebrate each of the four seasons with vigour!
Korea is lucky enough to have four seasons, and with each change of season comes new rituals, rites, activities, and treats to eat! I've seen nine changes of season so far, and I still feel like I have some catching up to do. Each season I discover something to learn about, something new to try, or something tasty to eat. Open your mind, your heart, and your belly - learning, loving, and eating are on the agenda in 2012!

Summer fun at the Haeundae Sand Festival, Busan

Autumn discovery during the Chuseok holiday at Bulguksa,
a temple in Gyeongju

Welcoming Spring at the Eobang or Fishers' Festival in Busan

A boy enjoying his traditional ice sleigh at the Dongjangkun Festival
in Baekwon Valley, Gangwon-do

 4) Talk to the Locals
I've never attended a festival in Korea where I haven't met a kind Korean with something interesting to say. If you're foreign, the stresses of living in or visiting a foreign country, can make it difficult to make local friends sometimes. Koreans especially are a very busy, hard-working people with a social code that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. At a festival or event, it's a different story. People have come from all over the country to relax and have a good time, and they are in a much more social mood. Whenever I've attended festivals, Koreans have offered assistance, translation, recommendations, and sometimes they just want to share a plain old chat. Their kindness makes you feel welcome, and by talking to them you may make a friend or learn something new! Talking to locals  provides a wonderful chance to share something about your culture, and to learn more about the Land of Morning Calm and her fascinating inhabitants.

Making friends at the Hwacheon Ice Festival, Gangwon-do

Military men enjoying their day off at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival

I met these lovely women competing at the Geoje Penguin Swim Festival

5) Take photos, take time, take it in
Even if you ignore my first four tips for festival fun, then heed this last snippet of advice. Take your time, take everything in, and, if you can, take photos - lots of 'em.  Take pictures of the sights, the scenery, the food, and most importantly, the people. Like I said before, when will you ever see this sight or meet these people again? Enjoy the moment while it lasts.

The Seoul Lantern Festival, celebrating Buddha's Birthday

Andong Mask Festival

The Busan International Fireworks Festival

I hope you've found my tips helpful, and I sincerely hope that everyone makes it out to a festival or two this year. Big or small, near or far, Korea's festivals are frequent, fun, and unforgettable.

Taking a Winter Dip at the Deokpo Penguin Swim Festival

On January 7th, I took part in the 8th Annual Geoje Penguin Swim Festival. This festival was just so much fun, and definitely one of my favourite experiences in Korea thus far!

I rose early to join a tour group and travel to Deokpo (덕포) on Geoje-do, or Geoje Island (거제도), a tiny area known for its beautiful beach. The festival grounds offered such services as complimentary snacks and beverages for participants, face-painting, and games. 

The opening ceremonies were a wonderful mix of traditional meets modern. First we were entertained with some traditional Korean drum music before watching some edgily-dressed women performing upbeat dance routines to modern K-Pop songs.

Small ones admiring the traditional drum music...

...And playing it too!

Dance troupe CHK showcase some stylish moves

After the show and official greeting, we were ready to swim. The fact that it was such a beautiful sunny day made it easier to take off our street clothes and change into our swim gear, but it was definitely still cold! The shock didn't last long, because we had other things to think about, namely the even colder swim that awaited us, and the camera crews!

The group loving a moment of fame

The festival crowd was quite large. Camera crews circled. It was a surreal feeling, but not an unwelcome one! After countless photos and camera interviews, we began a group warm-up session led by a far too energetic emcee.

Getting limber...

We're ready!

Limbs loose and hearts pounding, the competitors let out a few cheers before the whistle sounded. We ran forward into the ocean. Any thoughts of pain or shock due to the cold were cast aside because the needs of the group demanded that you push ahead. We had to swim a 50-metre round-trip. It was challenging to move in the cold with so many people, but we persevered and we made it. 

The swim didn't take very long, and once we reached dry land again, our cold but happy bodies plodded our way past the cameras, smiling and waving to retrieve our winners' medals. 

Victorious, we smile for the cameras. 
Fighting! 화이팅!

After a few minutes rest with some complimentary snacks, we continued our fun by joining the live flatfish catching contest. About 700 flatfish were released into a netted area in the sea, and we were all instructed to go catch them - by hand! Successful fishers could have their catch filleted and served raw for a small donation.

Our group caught a three-flatfish lunch 

We then took advantage of the free hot shower service and got bundled up again. We participated in some of the other activities, including an eel relay race, treasure hunt, and a three-legged race. One of our team members won an endurance contest, outlasting all the others as he balanced barefoot on a block of ice. 


As our feet thawed, we sat to our meal of delicious raw flatfish or gwang-eo (광어), and many others were doing the same!

The tour group enjoys lunch together 

With all of the festivities completed, we decided to take advantage of the local zip-line that stretched 450 metres from one end of the beach to the other. The view was gorgeous, it was comfortable, and not at all scary once you got off the platform.

Our second adventure of the day, zip-lining!

Mid zip-trip!

Landing intact, our thrill-seeking troupe decided it was time head back. After taking a few parting shots, we drove out of Deokpo, admiring the beautiful sunset and chatting about our adventure-filled day.

Good-bye, Geoje-do.

The 2012 swimming contest cost 10,000 won, and included a souvenir shirt & towel. Many of the other services available were free, or by donation and the event was well-organized. The zip-line costs 20,000 won for a round-trip, and is open year-round. Geoje-do is accessible via the Busan-Geoje Fixed-Link, and trips from Busan take about an hour. I highly recommend the trip! See Geoje-do tourist information: http://english.geoje.go.kr/index.sko.

Bokbunja & Black Raspberry Festival!

I took an Adventure Korea tour to see the Black Raspberry Festival in Geochang. Activities included picking berries & drinking the berry wine, touring the festival grounds (including live eel catching), a dance party, and shellfish collecting.

Basically, the 45 foreigners provided live  entertainment for the small town of Geochang for the entire weekend. We were followed everywhere by Koreans and their cameras. An amusing weekend, indeed.

After a 3-hour bus ride from Seoul, we landed in Geochang. We began the day by enjoying some traditional Korean games and sampling the local black raspberries, one of Geochang's best-known exports.

Playing a traditional Korean game,
throwing upright arrows into kimchi pots

Laura enjoys some hand-picked
black raspberries in the greenhouse

Next, we took a covered tractor ride and sipped on some delightful black raspberry smoothies! We watched the passing rice fields and mountains in comfort and awe.

Tractor ride

Black raspberry smoothies and a covered trolley ride - nice way to beat the heat!

Worker in the rice fields

After our refreshments, we took another short drive to a nearby temple. We strolled through the woods, on a cool footpath beside the river, and we could see the locals busy farming and fishing.

Ladies looking for fresh water shellfish and seaweed to sell or eat

Me, touring the temple grounds

After a nice visit, we finally made our way to the festival grounds. First, we had the eel-catching competition for foreigners. Any interested contestants were told to enter a large inflatable pool filled with black-raspberry-coloured water. When ready, the organizers emptied bags of live eels into the tub! We had to catch the eels with our bare hands, and any we caught, we could eat. it took me about 10 minutes, but I caught one!

Me, actually jumping for joy after catching a live eel with my bare hands!

With some tasty eel in our tummies, we toured the rest of the grounds, snacking and photo-snapping. We tried the variety of black-raspberry-themed drinks and snacks, including bokbunja, a famous Korean black raspberry wine.

Deep-fried ginseng root. Delish!

Bokbunja, with a twist: soju cocktail, makkeoli, beer, and wine, all made with bokbunja

Exhausted and happy, we made our way to the hotel. That evening, our tour group was treated to a free bokbunja wine and dance party, and all the locals were out to celebrate, too!

Free bokbunja? Don't mind if I do!

Cheers! Laura and I enjoy some bokbunja at the local dance party

Bokbunja wine & dance party in the tent, tourists and locals welcome!

A lovely evening was passed and all too soon it was the next day. For our final leg of the journey, we made our way to some mudflats to do some shellfish-digging, in the traditional Korean way. We drove on a large tractor out to the flats, and were given rubber boots and baskets with which to do our dirty work. It was a fun day's effort, and we were sent home with our catch to enjoy at home.

Adventure Korea tour group snap at the shellfish-digging mudflats

All in all, a wonderful trip and an eye-opening experience. Yet another fun-filled weekend in the ROK!

(Author's note: This blog was posted December 27, 2011, but the trip took place June 12-13, 2010)