Why Is the Wonju Mandu Festival, Which Drew 200,000 People at Its First Event, Suddenly Facing an Existential Crisis?

Full Cut of Related Budget Supplementary Proposal

The Gangwon Wonju Dumpling Festival, first held last year, is facing the risk of discontinuation after two years.

Gangwon Ilbo reported, "On the 29th, the Industrial Economy Committee (San-gyeongwi) of the Wonju City Council completely cut the 800 million KRW budget allocated in the first supplementary budget for this year's festival."

According to the report, city council members belonging to San-gyeongwi pointed out that 'dumplings' lack symbolic significance to be designated as Wonju City's representative brand, and the expected effect compared to the budget is low. There was also a heated debate among council members over the dumpling festival budget in the Budget and Accounts Special Committee. The committee is conducting detailed adjustments to finalize the budget proposal to be submitted to the plenary session on the 30th.

Last year's scene at the Wonju Dumpling Festival [Image source=Wonju City Instagram]

If the dumpling festival budget is not reflected in the Budget and Accounts Special Committee, the festival is highly likely to be canceled. Although the second supplementary budget remains, considering the festival schedule, holding the event is impossible.

Even if the budget is established in the Budget Committee, only a partially reduced amount, not the full 800 million KRW requested by the city, may be supported. Previously, the budget for the first Wonju Dumpling Festival held last year was 270 million KRW.

The dumpling festival was held at the end of October last year. It took place around Wonju Free Market, Doraemi Market, and Jungang Market, with a total of nine spaces including one theme hall showcasing the history of Wonju dumplings, three sales venues (a total of 35 food booths), four stages, and one experience zone.

[Image source=Wonju-si Instagram]

In January, Wonju City estimated that the dumpling festival last year generated about 10 billion KRW in local economic effects. According to the report published at the time, the total number of visitors was counted at 200,000, with 51.6% of all visitors coming from outside the region. By age group, the 20s and 30s accounted for 63.6% of the visitors.

Meanwhile, Wonju dumplings are said to have originated in the 1950s, shortly after the Korean War, when flour was supplied by the U.S. military and others. Refugees and merchants made dumplings in front of Wonju Station and sold them at the five-day market, and this tradition has been passed down to the present day.