Changwon City to Hold Jinhae Gunhangje Festival Normally Featuring 'Naval Port, Cherry Blossoms, and Defense Industry'

Goal to Attract 10 Million Tourists in 2026

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Song Jong-gu] Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is promoting the full-scale reopening of the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, Changwon's representative festival, which was canceled or scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marking its 61st year, the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival will be held for ten days from March 24, starting with the eve event, until April 3, across the entire city of Changwon, including Jinhae-gu, centered around the three key themes of "naval port, cherry blossoms, and defense industry."

Jinhae Gunhangje Festival archival photo.

The city plans to establish a unique festival brand for the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, which is resuming after four years since COVID-19, by emphasizing its symbolism as the home port of the Republic of Korea Navy and the distinctive features of a maritime tourism city.

First, the main event areas, which had been concentrated near Jungwon Rotary in Jinhae, will be expanded to include Jinhaeru and the Naval Academy.

The traditional folk market will also be transformed from its previous chaotic style into a citizen-participation marketplace featuring a food market and art market with emotional appeal. Events held throughout the city, such as the original musicals "Angolpo Naval Battle," the "Gyeonghwa Station Love Story Contest," and special lectures at the Yi Sun-sin Academy, will be organically linked to present a completely renewed festival atmosphere.

In particular, this year’s Gunhangje Festival, returning after four years, is expected to attract attention with new content never seen before. The festival will introduce "defense industry content" that highlights Changwon’s unique status as a hub of South Korea’s defense industry, thereby deepening the "naval port" image of the festival, which had previously been focused mainly on cherry blossoms, and actively promoting Changwon’s potential for innovative growth led by the defense industry.

To prepare safety accident prevention measures, which have been recently emphasized, the city will conduct prior inspections and thoroughly verify the safety of all festival-related facilities. Additionally, it will establish safety management plans for various situations upon tourist influx to ensure a festival free from even minor accidents.

Mayor Hong Nam-pyo stated, “In the mid to long term, we aim to enhance the value of Changwon’s representative festival as a national flagship brand festival and a global product by linking and integrating various similar and small-scale festivals. We plan to attract 10 million tourists by 2026.”