Korea’s festivals have evolved in both variety and scale over the years, attracting tourists and expats to join in the fun. According to data released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of tourists revisiting Korea jumped to 46.1 percent in 2015, compared to 34.9 percent in 2014. The government and local festival committees are doing everything in their capacity to maintain the increase.

The Seoul Tourism Association even recently launched mobile education centers for tour operators and workers in such fields. They are customized service vehicles that visit several tourist hot spots, such as festivals, to educate and provide aid. The service was launched on Tuesday at Dongdaemun Complex -- one of Seoul’s busiest tourist hubs -- in a ceremony hosted by the STA.

According to a research document based on a survey published by the Korea Tourism Organization in 2013 dubbed “Utilizing Festivals for Purpose of Invigorating Local Tourism,” 86.7 percent of foreign tourists responded that they did not attend Korean festivals because they did not have enough information about the festivals. This problem is being gradually resolved with a growing number of festivals establishing additional online platforms in English and other languages. Korean festivals also have begun to spearhead efforts for international attention. 

The official website for the Boryeong Mud Festival -- one of the quirkiest July festivals, which takes place by the mud flats on the west coast -- is available in four different languages.

As is the case across the globe, music forms a central part of local festivals, and the Seoul Jazz Festival -- hosted annually by event planning agency Private Curve -- is the songbird that signals the start of the summer festival relay. This year’s event was well prepared, making the most of various endorsements – including food trucks with quality food and a colossal pyramid-shaped event stage from Heineken at the heart of the festival. 

The lineup this year for the festival also raised expectations and was met with much fanfare, with U.S. jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, Esperanza Spalding, DJ Mark Ronson, Damien Rice and others embellishing the list of artists.

Among the partygoers were Zeke Jones, Anna Faison, Abhik Pramanik and Tess Zaretsky, all expats from the U.S. in their early 20s enjoying the sunlight and quality music.

“The food and alcohol is great, but it would be better if spectators participated more in the performances,” they agreed mildly, in unison. “Plus, there was a separate booking line for foreigners, so we didn’t go through any trouble buying the ticket,” added Jones. 

Another noteworthy music festival this year, Ultra Music Festival Korea -- a playground for electronic dance music fans that branched out to Korea in 2012 -- was set to arrange another year of hectic fun from June 10-12. The lineup for the festival also boasts A-list DJs such as Afrojack, Avicii and deadmau5, and has been promoted vigorously through local media outlets and its official website. The official website is well crafted in both design and information that embodies the futuristic spirit of the festival, coming in both Korean and English. 

However, despite the growing popularity of the event, there remain glitches that need to be worked out. This year’s UMF Korea’s official Facebook page was bombarded with complaints of late ticket deliveries. Due to the fact that 20 to 30 percent of its annual participants come from abroad, comments in English expressing confusion flooded in. Associates of the festival released an official apology on June 8 through Facebook stating that some ticket deliveries were delayed due to complications they were experiencing with the ticket printing company -- but only in Korean. 

The same apology was not issued in any form through UMF Korea’s official website on the same day it was uploaded on Facebook. 

Although Korean festivals have been doing a stellar job in attracting international audiences by painting things in a bright light, there is still ample room left for improvement.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkj1105@heraldcorp.com)