Sinan-gun, Sham-mak Art Festival Concludes Successfully

High Expectations for the Sweet Meeting of Champagne and Makgeolli in 2025

Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do successfully held the ‘2024 Shinan Shammak Art Festival’ over two days on the 11th and 12th at the Lee Sedol Baduk Museum on Bigeumdo Island and the Ramada Hotel Grand Ballroom on Jaeundo Island.

According to the county on the 14th, the event was attended by about 700 people, including Yoann Le Thalec, Cultural Attach? of the French Embassy in Korea, Jerome Pinot, Principal of Javier International School, Cedric Touron, Principal of Seoul French School, Professor Emmanuel Hu from Paris Cit? University in France, and students from France and Shinan-gun.

The festival was based on the historical incident of the French fishing vessel Narval, which was shipwrecked in 1851 near Bigeumdo. Although domestic historical records noted the drifting of foreigners, making it difficult to trace, it was revealed through the efforts of Professor Emmanuel Hu, who is currently serving in the Department of Oriental Studies at Paris Cit? University in France.

Opening Ceremony of the Sinan Shammak Art Festival
Photo by Sinan-gun

The 2024 Shinan Shammak Art Festival aimed to recreate the sweet and mellow encounter between champagne and Makgeolli in 1851 and to promote the revitalization of cultural arts between the two countries, originating from the people.

On the 11th, at the Lee Sedol Baduk Museum on Bigeumdo, the festival opening ceremony was held, featuring champagne and Makgeolli tastings on Bigeumdo, French and Shinan cuisine experiences, the Nolmachi welcome performance, Pansori by Mapolor, chansons by Kim Yuri and Yuval, the Narval play by the theater group Gaetdol, and Shinan-gun Bigeumdo’s traditional Tteomttwigi Ganggangsullae, offering various cultural arts experiences and stage performances from both countries.

In particular, the national anthem singing and joint performances by students from France and Shinan-gun left a strong impression.

On the 12th, the conference held at the Ramada Hotel Grand Ballroom on Jaeundo was titled ‘The Square of Korea-France Cultural and Artistic Exchange, Bigeumdo,’ featuring keynote lectures by Professor Emmanuel Hu and presentations by Professor Ida Doshi from Sookmyung Women’s University and Professor Lee Suwon from Chonnam National University.

Kang Hyung-gi, Chairman of the Festival Promotion Committee, said, “Recently, Shinan-gun has been creating a successful model through diversification of festivals, with a growing and increasingly diverse number of visitors each year. The 2024 Shinan Shammak Art Festival will open a new horizon for Shinan-gun’s cultural arts festivals.”

Park Woo-ryang, County Governor, stated, “Shinan-gun is striving to become a world-renowned art island beyond Korea, and we are very pleased to open the door to direct exchanges with France, the country of arts, through the Shinan Shammak Art Festival. Ahead of the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations, we will continue cultural and artistic projects in cooperation with the French Embassy in Korea to commemorate this milestone.”