Midsummer Christmas, Bonghwa Buncheon 'Santa Village' Opens ... Summer's Representative Tourist Attraction in Gyeongbuk

Various Activities Including Water Gun Play and Cooking Classes... Operated for 30 Days from July 23 to August 21

Santa Village Opens in Buncheon, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Gyeongbuk Province held the opening ceremony of the Midsummer Santa Village on the 23rd at Bonghwa Buncheon Station, attended by about 200 people including Bonghwa County, Korail Gyeongbuk Headquarters, local residents, and tourists.

At this opening ceremony, various events were held, including congratulatory performances, a welcoming ceremony for tourists visiting Santa Village by train, a soap bubble show, fireworks performance, and opening celebration performances.

The "This Year's Midsummer Santa Village," operated for 30 days from the 23rd of this month to the 21st of next month in the Buncheon-ri Santa Village area, painted the village roofs red, symbolizing Christmas, and prepared various attractions and activities such as a giant tree observatory and alpaca feeding.

During the Santa Village operation period, various experiential programs will be held, including a midsummer water gun battle at the newly renovated tree observatory, a marching band parade featuring various percussion and wind instruments, a storytelling soap bubble show, Santa tart making, and a "Find the Real Santa" event.

Also, every Saturday night, visitors can enjoy the Midsummer Starlight Night Tour of Santa Village with a cultural tourism guide.

In addition, a flea market where local agricultural specialties can be purchased and a photo zone for capturing memorable shots have been prepared, and alpaca feeding and bicycle sharing are operated regularly.

Kim Sang-cheol, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the province, said, "Bonghwa Buncheon Santa Village fully serves as a representative tourist destination in Korea that people want to revisit," adding, "I hope that visitors to Santa Village this summer will leave with their hearts full of dreams and romance."

Bonghwa Buncheon Santa Village was created based on ideas from Rovaniemi Santa Village, a representative tourist destination in Finland, and has been opened twice a year, in winter and summer, since December 2014.

It attracts about 1,000 visitors daily and gained recognition as Korea's top winter tourist spot after being awarded the Korea Tourism Star in 2016 and serving as a torch relay site for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Bonghwa County is investing 25 billion KRW in national and local government funds by next year to promote the Buncheon Santa Village development project and the Winter Kingdom Buncheon Santa Village tourism attraction project.