Hapcheon Image Theme Park to Host 2024 Ghost Park Awake Festival

"The Return of Heart-Pounding Horror This Summer!

The Nation's First and Largest Horror Theme Festival"

Hapcheon County in Gyeongnam announced that the ‘2024 Ghost Park Awake’ festival will be held for 21 days from June 29 to August 18 at the Hapcheon Image Theme Park area.

The “Hapcheon County Ghost Park Festival,” which opened in 2014 as the first and largest horror festival in Korea and was successfully operated until 2019, was temporarily suspended due to COVID-19. Now, it is being renewed with even more intense horror and is preparing to welcome visitors once again.

According to the legend of the Hapcheon Ogwangdae mask play, during the Joseon Dynasty, when many people were dying from unknown plagues, disasters, and great floods, a large chest drifted in, filled with masks. When someone wore a mask and performed a play, the plagues and disasters were sealed away, and a time of peace followed.

Hapcheon County 2024 Ghost Park Awake Festival Poster Photo

Based on this legend, the ‘Ghost Park Awake’ festival is designed with the concept that in 2024, an unexplained disaster strikes the world again, the sealed masks are broken, and visitors must retrieve the mask fragments that have fallen into the hands of ghosts worldwide to seal them away once more. The festival operates at night, starting at 7 PM and running until 11 PM.

This revived Ghost Park Awake will feature two main attractions, six sub-attractions, a variety of events to expand visitor experiences, horror performances, and paid makeup and costume experiences provided by the special effects and costume teams of SBS, the event organizer. There will also be food and rest areas matching the ghost concept.

Main features of Ghost Park Awake include: ▲ The largest event space in the country ▲ Participation of SBS special effects and costume teams and professional actors ▲ Introduction of a queue management system to ensure smooth participation and expanded experiences for visitors ▲ Safe and pleasant festival venue management.

▲ The largest event space in the country

The main stage, Hapcheon Image Theme Park, is the largest historical drama filming site in Korea, recreating streets from the 1920s to the 1980s. For this Ghost Park Awake festival, custom spaces matching the ‘ghost’ theme will be installed throughout the park, utilizing existing structures and the surrounding environment.

This will allow visitors to enjoy a wide variety of sights and experiences without monotony, making it the largest horror festival in the country.

▲ Participation of SBS special effects and costume teams and professional actors

To ensure high quality and deliver extreme horror, SBS professional actors, made up and costumed by the SBS special effects and costume teams, will be stationed throughout the attractions and event spaces to provide the best service to visitors.

Additionally, special equipment will be installed in the experience zones to create a terrifying atmosphere that stimulates all five senses. Media facade productions (at the Joseon Government-General Building and Daehung Theater) and interactive ghost stages (main performances, magic shows, recreation, photo time, etc.) will also be presented to showcase a top-quality horror festival.

In particular, a ghost cage using special equipment will be introduced for the first time, offering a unique event that sets this festival apart from others.

▲ Introduction of a queue management system to ensure smooth participation and expanded experiences for visitors

To reduce waiting times at the main experience zones and improve overall convenience, the event will implement an improved operating system. A ‘coin system’ will be introduced, requiring visitors to earn a certain number of coins to access main attractions. If there is a queue at an experience zone, a mobile notification system will allow visitors to enjoy other content and then return to the main attraction when it is their turn.

▲ Safe and pleasant festival venue management

In addition to the SBS professional staff, about 50 event staff will be separately selected from among local residents. Based on the expertise of the SBS staff, thorough pre-event safety training and patrols will be conducted to prevent and respond to emergencies and accidents. Event staff will also play the role of street ghosts to enhance communication with visitors and contribute to the overall horror atmosphere of the festival.

Furthermore, a close cooperation system will be established with the Hapcheon County Facilities Management Corporation for facility inspections and environmental maintenance within the venue, ensuring the successful operation of the festival.

Tickets for ‘Ghost Park Awake’ can be purchased both online and offline (on-site ticketing). Online reservations offer up to a 30% discount, and an early bird discount of up to 35% is available for online purchases until July 15.

County Governor Kim Yooncheol stated, “As Ghost Park Awake is being revived after five years, we will leverage our festival operation experience to make Hapcheon the leading city for summer festivals in Korea, with even stronger and more unique content and management than other festivals. We hope many people will show interest and participate in this festival, where you can blow away the midsummer heat with extreme horror.”