‘Pohang Ricofesta’ Citizen-Led Eco-Friendly Festival ... Visitors Keep Coming

On the 3rd and 4th, Pohang City hosted the '2023 Pohang Reco Festa' for the first time this year at Yangdeok Sports Park, attracting 30,000 visitors and demonstrating the potential of a citizen-led eco-friendly festival.

At Yangdeok Sports Park, with its attractive green lawn in the city center, a unique flea market by citizen sellers was held under colorful parasols, and families participating in the Earth Environment Drawing Contest enjoyed camping in the camping zone right in front of their homes.

More than 100 citizen sellers participated in the flea market at this event, and about 50 local creators and zero-waste pop-up stores, along with an eco-friendly playground made available through prior reservations, welcomed around 150 children who enjoyed their weekend.

Additionally, a small concert in the city center was held featuring local artists' performances such as Dalbodeure Kids Ensemble’s film music, semi-classical performances, and Lema Ensemble’s Studio Ghibli OST concert. To ensure safety within the event venue, about 100 volunteers from Yangdeok-dong Youth Association, the Autonomous Fire Brigade, Pohang Plogging, and Hwanjang Volunteer Group participated to help the smooth progress of the event.

Jung Kyung-hwa, a resident of Jangryang-dong, said, “Yangdeok Sports Park was decorated as a very beautiful event venue, so I came out with a mat and camping chair from home to participate together,” and added, “I hope many festivals reflecting local characteristics that we don’t usually get to experience, like today’s event, will be planned.”

This Reco Festa was a project selected by Pohang City in January for the Gyeongbuk Province’s Miseak (微色, small but colorful) festival contest. The Reco Promotion Committee (Yangdeok-dong Youth Association) planned it as a sustainable, demand-centered festival combining recycling (RECYCLE) of resource circulation and eco-friendliness (ECO).