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Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam will hold the 62nd Jinhae Gunhangje Festival for 10 days from March 23 to April 1. The opening ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. on March 22 at Jinhae Stadium.
Marking its 62nd year, the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival is the largest cherry blossom festival in the country, attracting millions of visitors annually. Last year’s 61st Jinhae Gunhangje drew approximately 4.2 million tourists from both domestic and international locations, and as a cherry blossom festival that amazed countless people, this year’s festival is also expected to attract many visitors.
◆ Origin of the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival
The origin of the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival dates back to rituals held at Bukwon Rotary, where the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin stands, and the festival officially began in 1963. The festival includes the Yi Sun-sin Memorial Ceremony honoring the patriotic spirit of Admiral Yi, victory parades, artistic and cultural performances, the military band and honor guard festival, and a traditional market, all enjoyed alongside the beautiful cherry blossoms. It has grown every year into a spring festival and has now firmly established itself as a nationwide event rich in history and tradition, attracting many tourists.
Additionally, as the festival is held in Jinhae, the home port of the Republic of Korea Navy, it features military base open days at locations usually restricted to the public, such as the Naval Academy and the Naval Jinhae Base Command. Visitors can enjoy the naval base’s atmosphere along with the beautiful cherry blossom city.
◆ Changes from last year
Due to increasingly mild weather causing earlier cherry blossom blooming, the 62nd Jinhae Gunhangje Festival will run for 10 days from March 23 to April 1, starting with a pre-festival event on March 22. A major change from last year is the unification of the festival venues, which were previously divided into two separate locations.
The main stages for this year’s 62nd Jinhae Gunhangje will be centered around Jungwon Rotary and Bukwon Rotary in Chungmu-dong, Jinhae-gu. Last year, the festival was split between Jinhaeru and the Jungwon and Bukwon Rotaries, causing inconvenience for visitors who had to travel by car. This year, the festival will be consolidated into the Jungwon Rotary area, creating a concentrated core walking route for tourists to enjoy the festival more efficiently.
To address the issue of overcharging that arose during last year’s festival, various measures will be implemented this year, including a booth real-name system, a reward system for reporting violations, and a three-strike rule for offenders. To enhance transparency, the real names of booth operators will be disclosed, and anyone caught reselling booths at inflated prices will result in a reward for the first reporter and forfeiture of the security deposit before business operation.
Furthermore, businesses that have been legitimately allocated booths but charge excessively unfair prices will be banned from participating in the Jinhae Gunhangje for three years. Visitors will be able to report discrepancies between the information posted at booths?such as origin and weight?and the actual food ordered to the “Overcharging Control Team.”
Reflecting feedback from visitors last year who felt there were insufficient experiential and participatory programs, the 62nd Jinhae Gunhangje will offer a variety of programs for all generations, including a popular music contest, dance competitions, and family experience booths. Additionally, diverse attractions such as cosplay programs targeting younger generations will be provided.
Meanwhile, Anmin Hill, which was previously fully closed to vehicles, will be operated as a one-way street from Jinhae toward Seongsan-gu. The opening of the Guigok?Haengam national highway bypass passing through the 2nd Jangbok Tunnel and the early opening of the National Route 25 bypass passing through Seokdong Tunnel (2nd Anmin Tunnel) are expected to alleviate traffic congestion in downtown Jinhae during the festival.
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