[Itaewon Tragedy] Resuming After 3 Years... What About Festivals Across the Country?

A local five-day market in progress. Unrelated to the content of the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] As of 6 a.m. on the 30th, the Itaewon crowd crush disaster has resulted in 149 deaths and a total of 225 casualties, causing disruptions to ongoing or upcoming events. Voices from the political sphere are calling for the cancellation of local festivals, and President Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned reviewing local festivals in his national address on the same day.

Various festivals, events, and performances that had been suspended due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic have already been held across the country, and many more events are lined up. Although many situations differ from Itaewon, where a massive crowd gathered in narrow alleys causing the accident, it is difficult to either push forward with festivals amid a nationwide mourning atmosphere or to halt or cancel festivals that have been prepared for a long time.

The World Food Festival in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, the Danggui Festival in Pyeongchang, Gangwon, the Salmon Festival in Yangyang, Gangwon, and the Siraegi Apple Festival in Yanggu, Gangwon, all opened on the 28th or 29th and will continue until the 30th. On the 31st, the ‘2022 Moran Folk 5-Day Market Festival’ will be held at Moran Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The Moran Folk 5-Day Market covers an area of 8,898㎡ and takes place on days ending with 4 and 9 at the public parking lot within the Yeosu Public Housing District along Dunchon-daero in Jungwon-gu, with about 500 stalls. Before being suspended due to COVID-19, it was the largest in the nation, attracting about 60,000 visitors on weekdays and up to 100,000 on holidays. The ‘2022 Pyeongchang Highland Kimchi Festival,’ hosted by the Pyeongchang Highland Kimchi Festival Committee, is scheduled to be held for 17 days from November 4 to 20 at the Odaecheon Festival Site in Jinbu-myeon, Pyeongchang. First held in 2016, this festival has seen visitor numbers double every year, and just before the COVID-19 suspension in 2019, about 80,000 people attended over 11 days.

On November 5, the Busan Fireworks Festival will be held for the first time in three years at Gwangalli Beach, Dongbaek Island, and in front of Igidae in Busan. To facilitate the installation and removal of structures and lighting, Busan City will partially control traffic lane by lane on Gwangandaegyo Bridge from October 31 to November 6. On the day of the Busan Fireworks Festival, November 5, the upper deck will be fully closed from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, and the lower deck from 7:30 p.m. to midnight. Meanwhile, Halloween-related events scheduled for the 30th are expected to be widely canceled. SM Entertainment, which had originally announced the ‘SM Town Wonderland’ event for that afternoon, notified fans through its community that the ‘SM Town Wonderland 2022’ event has been canceled.