Inspection Meeting... Discussion on Successful Hosting and Globalization Strategies
Jeonnam Province announced on the 3rd that it has reviewed the basic plans for the two major festivals it organizes: the ‘30th International Namdo Food Culture Festival’ and the ‘16th Myeongnyang Victory Festival.’
On the day, the province held a review meeting and focused discussions on ways to develop the festivals into world-class events.
The meeting, chaired by Myung Chang-hwan, Vice Governor of Jeonnam Province, was attended by about 30 people including Kim Byung-won, Executive Chairman of each festival and professor at Mokpo National University, Jeong Ki-young, professor at Sehan University, officials from Jeonnam Province, Mokpo City, Haenam County, Jindo County, and advisory committee members.
Following the presentation of the basic plans by the festival directors, participants engaged in open discussions focusing on strategies for successful event hosting and fostering the festivals into world-class celebrations.
Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the International Namdo Food Culture Festival will be held for three days starting September 27 at the Mokpo City Culture and Arts Center area.
Jeonnam Province declared last year’s event as the inaugural international event for the International Namdo Food Culture Festival.
This year, aiming for the globalization of Jeonnam tourism, the province is preparing programs to develop the festival into a world-class event in connection with the ‘2024?2026 Jeonnam World Tourism and Culture Expo’ currently being promoted by the province.
As a pre-event to the ‘2025 International Gourmet Industry Expo’ scheduled to be held in Mokpo next October, the ‘Pre-Gourmet Industry Expo’ will be conducted, featuring evaluations of excellent agricultural, marine, and food products, as well as export consultation meetings for businesses.
The festival will strengthen ‘gastronomic content’ reflecting Namdo’s unique character, such as the ‘Namdo Taste Tour’ with Namdo food masters, and will newly operate special theme halls commemorating the 30th anniversary of the festival that reexamine the tradition and future of Namdo cuisine, as well as a Food Tech Hall.
Additionally, to globalize Namdo food content, new features such as the ‘World Gourmet Zone’ will be introduced, and familiarization tours targeting foreigners including officials from foreign embassies in Korea and U.S. military personnel stationed in Korea will also be promoted.
The ‘Myeongnyang Victory Festival’ commemorates the historic Myeongnyang Battle, where Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s Joseon navy and Jeolla Province fishermen fought against the Japanese navy at Uldolmok Strait and achieved a great victory. The festival is jointly hosted by Jeonnam Province, Jindo County, and Haenam County.
This year, the festival period is aligned with the historic Myeongnyang Victory Day (lunar calendar September 16) and will be held for three days from October 18, centered at the Jindo Nokjin Tourist Site and including the Haenam Useuyeong Tourist Site and the Uldolmok area.
Jeonnam Province plans to strengthen the identity of the Myeongnyang Victory Festival as a patriotic historical and cultural festival and compose content that harmoniously blends tradition and modernity. To this end, an ultra-realistic naval battle using ICT convergence technology and multimedia is planned, and a new academic seminar on the Myeongnyang Victory will be held to establish strategies for historical and cultural succession and sustainable festival development.
The province will expand participation of local artists to create differentiated programs utilizing local cultural and artistic content, and aims to develop tourist-centered experiential and participatory content and strengthen pre-promotion efforts to make the festival a world-class event.
Vice Governor Myung Chang-hwan said, “The two major festivals organized by the province comprehensively showcase Jeonnam’s food, history, and traditional culture,” adding, “Through organic cooperation between the province and cities/counties and sustainable management strategies (ESG) that consider eco-friendliness, social responsibility, and management structure centered on tourists, we will nurture these festivals into global events representing Korea.”
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