Asan City Colors Itself with the Spirit of Yi Sun-sin on Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Birthday

‘Art Valley Asan 63rd Seongung Yi Sun-sin Festival’ Held for 5 Days from April 24
Redefining the Identity and Role as the City of the General's Growth and Eternal Rest

On the 25th, Park Kyung-gwi, Mayor of Asan City, held a briefing for the 63rd Seongung Yi Sun-sin Festival at Art Valley Asan and introduced new programs.

Marking the 479th anniversary of Admiral Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin's birth, Asan City in Chungnam is filled with the general's spirit of ‘Loyalty, Filial Piety, and Love.’

On the 25th, the city announced that it will hold the ‘Art Valley Asan 63rd Seongung Yi Sun-sin Festival’ for five days starting from the 24th of next month.

Until now, more than ten festivals and events related to Admiral Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin have been held nationwide, making it difficult to find distinctiveness.

In response, Mayor Park Kyung-gwi of Asan instructed a complete review of all programs except ‘Yi Sun-sin’ starting last year. Various thoroughly verified programs and participatory events were held to carry on the general’s legacy into the modern era, including the Military Music and Ceremony Festival with 14 teams from the Ministry of National Defense, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Korea Military Academy, Special Warfare Command, and US Eighth Army, as well as the Baekui Jonggun-gil National Walking and Marathon Competition, and the Samdosugun Tongjesa Flag Raising Ceremony.

Thanks to the success of these festivals, the city was selected for the Best Event Program at the ‘2024 Asia Pinnacle Awards’ held last month in Pattaya, Thailand.

This year, even more differentiated content will be showcased to redefine the identity and role of the city as the place of the general’s growth and eternal rest.

A newly introduced content is the creative pansori ‘Isunsinga’ by master singer Lee Bong-geun, which will be unveiled for the first time. The pansori richly contains stories of the ‘human Yi Sun-sin’ related to Asan, including the admiral’s heroic aspects, his youth spent in Asan, and his farewell with his mother. The full 5-hour performance will be condensed to about 30 minutes to suit the festival and presented to the citizens.

The Asan City Choir’s ‘Nanjung Ilgi Cantata’ will change its genre to a musical this year, expanding the stage scale for a more magnificent presentation. Also, crossover group Forestella, who sang the OST ‘Haemu’ for the movie ‘Noryang: Sea of Death,’ will perform ‘Haemu’ live on the Seongung Yi Sun-sin Festival stage.

Various experiential events have also been expanded.

Last year’s popular ‘Military Experience Zone’ and ‘Horse Riding Experience Zone’ for children will be presented again, and a new program allowing participants to make and fly the ‘Tactical Kite’ used by Admiral Yi Sun-sin during the Imjin War has been added.

In particular, the first Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin Cup Rowing Competition at Art Valley Asan will be held at Gokgyocheon. The Turtle Ship Rowing Competition is one of the popular programs of the Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival, and with cooperation from Tongyeong City, Asan will hold it at Gokgyocheon starting this year. The city aims to have about 80 teams participate this year.

Additionally, the Military Music and Ceremony Festival, Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s departure parade, Hakikjin Dance Battle, Hakikjin Street Dance featuring One Million and Jinjo Crew, and the World Taekwondo Federation Demonstration Team’s ‘To Die is to Live, To Live is to Die’ performance, which moved many last year, will be presented in new forms.

Mayor Park Kyung-gwi said, “This festival has been prepared to strengthen last year’s strengths and supplement shortcomings, focusing on substance rather than change. We will do our best until the end to ensure that every aspect is better than last year and that everyone can enjoy a happier and more joyful festival than before.”