Gwanak-gu Hosts Ontact & Untact '2020 Gang Gam-chan Festival'

From November 6 to 8, a 3-day non-face-to-face festival venue... Gwanak On&Off Festival Salon Forum held, programs centered on local art groups arranged

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The ‘Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival,’ which was successfully held last year to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Gwiju, will be held as a non-face-to-face online festival this year due to the impact of COVID-19.

Hosted by Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) and organized by the Gwanak Cultural Foundation (CEO Cha Min-tae), the ‘2020 Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival’ will take place from November 6 to 8 for three days in an ontact and untact format.

The district aims to ease the regret of not being able to hold the festival fully due to COVID-19 and to prepare a mid- to long-term development plan for the ‘Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival’ that fits the current era.

Under the theme of the festival outlook in the post-COVID era, the district will hold the ‘2020 Gwanak On&Off Festival Salon’ forum, adopting the ‘salon’ format for the first time in Korea. It expects special interest from residents with a method and content differentiated from previous festival forums.

The first presenter will be Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University, well known as a Korean PR expert and Dokdo guardian. He will revisit the significance of General Gang Gam-chan under the theme ‘Nakseongdae Story and the Historical and Cultural Value of the Gang Gam-chan Festival.’

Along with this, experts representing Korea in tourism and festival fields such as Oh Hoon-sung from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute and Professor Lee Hoon from Hanyang University will participate in presentations and discussions, planning active debates on the ‘Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival,’ regional cultural festival development, and festivals in the post-COVID era.

Professor Seo Kyung-duk said, “I was born in Gwanak-gu and have never left, so I am already excited and looking forward to doing even a small thing for my hometown.”

Local art groups will also unite to conduct various untact programs. To honor General Gang Gam-chan’s achievements and explore cultural potential with the themes ‘Inheon Gang Gam-chan,’ ‘Gwanaksan,’ and ‘Hyo (Filial Piety),’ the ▲Inheon Gang Gam-chan Online Writing Contest and the ▲Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Online Photo Exhibition & Art Contest, which convey messages of hope and courage amid Gwanak-gu’s history and the COVID-19 situation, will be held.

Participation details for each program can be found on the Gwanak Cultural Foundation website.

In particular, since the district cannot hold an on-site festival this time, it plans to build various festival resources such as the FI (Festival Identity), festival logo song, and dedicated website, which will become future assets of the ‘Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival,’ laying the foundation to get closer to residents after the post-COVID era.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “First, I deeply regret not being able to meet and breathe directly with residents to create a meaningful and enjoyable time, but I hope this non-face-to-face Gang Gam-chan Festival will heal the COVID blues of the residents. Also, I hope that tourism and festival experts and residents will discuss and explore the future new normal festivals and present plans and opinions for the mid- to long-term development of the Gwanak Gang Gam-chan Festival.”