[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Wonju Dynamic Dancing Carnival

The Wonju Dynamic Dancing Carnival will be held at Wonju Sports Complex in Gangwon Province, from Friday to Sunday.
The event, rescheduled from October, has grown into a global festival with a parade competition that typically takes place in the streets.
However, the festival has downsized the scale, with programs being presented only at a special stage at Wonju Sports Complex.
The annual festival is returning after two years, featuring cultural arts performances, a dance competition and dance performances and concerts by K-pop artists.
The admission fee is 10,000 won for all seats. Wonju residents are admitted for 5,000 won.
More information can be found at www.ddcwj.com.
 

Hallimpark Chrysanthemum Festival

The 27th Hallimpark Chrysanthemum Festival kicked off Nov. 6 and is scheduled to run through Nov. 28 at Hallimpark, located on the west coast of Jeju Island.
The festival presents a garden of chrysanthemums with 50 different types of the flowers and almost 10,000 chrysanthemum-related artworks.
Visitors can enjoy several in-person programs, including busking by local artists, poetry reading and several craft-making programs.
Admission fees vary by age.
More information can be found at www.hallimpark.com.

Paju Booksori Festival

The Paju Booksori Festival is scheduled to start on Nov. 19 and run through Nov. 21 at Paju Book City in Gyeonggi Province, a leading publishing and cultural hub in Korea.
The annual event has grown into the largest book festival in Asia, drawing many book-loving visitors, around 100 publishers and leading organizations related to the publishing industry, books and education.
Visitors can enjoy the virtual reality exhibition, experiencing the important scenes of four chosen books, an audiobook event and a book fair.
All book lovers are welcome with no admission fees, but the number of visitors will be limited to 100 to comply with social distancing guidelines.
Updated information can be found at www.pajubooksori.kr.  

Seoul Lantern Festival

The Seoul Lantern Festival kicks off Nov. 26 and runs through Dec. 12 at various sites in Jongno, central Seoul.
The annual festival is one of the most celebrated festivals of Seoul, featuring a number of large paper lanterns and LED sculptures along the Cheonggyecheon.
The event will be an online-offline hybrid event, where people can enjoy AR exhibitions and join the festival via social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.
Offline venues offer visitors a chance to enjoy colorful hanji lanterns at the stream.
More information can be found at www.stolantern.com.

Taean Lighting Festival

The Taean Lighting Festival started on Jan. 1 and will run through Dec. 31 at Nature World in Taean, South Chungcheong Province.
The festival does not offer any special programs for visitors to experience, but the shining lights and glowing lanterns welcome anyone wishing for a splendid photo to splash onto their social media.
Marking its eighth anniversary, the event runs from 5:30 to 10 p.m., and visitors need to pay admission fees, which vary by age.
More information can be found at www.ffestival.co.kr.


By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)