On the 21st, Jeonnam Naju City announced on the 20th that it will hold the opening ceremony of the ‘2023 Naju Festival, Yeongsangang is Alive’ at the main stage area of Yeongsangang Riverside Sports Park starting from 5 PM.
The highlight of this festival’s opening performance is the ‘54 Joseon-era Transport Ships Onboard Parade’ (GIF image), which will majestically cross the Yeongsangang River, followed by a spectacular fireworks show lighting up the autumn night sky.
The onboard parade is inspired by historical records stating that 54 Joseon-era transport ships were docked at Yeongsanpo, the largest inland port south of the Han River.
In the past, Yeongsanpo was a docking site for Joseon-era transport ships that carried tax grains collected from various regions of Jeolla Province to Gaegyeong during the Goryeo Dynasty and to Hanyang during the Joseon Dynasty.
The Joseon-era transport ships affiliated with ‘Naju Gwangheungchang’ numbered 53 to 54 vessels, transporting over 30,000 seok of tax grains and local specialties three times a year. Yeongsanpo was a logistics hub, and the Yeongsangang River, as a living river and sea, led to Naju’s prosperity.
The performance reenacts the scene of 54 Joseon-era transport ships laden with specialties from Gaegyeong and Hanyang, joyfully crossing the Yeongsangang River with a full catch.
Under the night sky of Yeongsangang River where the transport ships arrive, an unprecedentedly magnificent fireworks show will be held.
Following the onboard parade and fireworks show, the musical ‘Wang Geon and Queen Janghwa’ (title) will be performed consecutively. The musical is an original production based on the founding legend of Goryeo involving Wang Geon and Odoyeong (character name), the Willow Lady, passed down in Naju.
In the musical, Odoyeong, the wise and enterprising daughter of local Naju power figure O Daryeon, wins love and, through her connection with Wang Geon, beautifully portrays the founding of Goryeo along the Yeongsangang riverside.
Director Nam Jeongsuk said, “Among the festival’s killer contents, the killer content made possible by the Yeongsangang River is the 54-ship onboard parade and fireworks show, as well as the musical depicting the love story of Wang Geon and Queen Janghwa, who played a decisive role in the founding history of Goryeo.”
Naju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yukbong baekok@asiae.co.kr
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