'120,000 vs 5,000'... Which Festival Had the Lowest Visitors Last Year? [Festival Republic]

②Analysis of 86 Festival Data by Korea Tourism Organization
Highest Daily Average: Bucheon International Comics Festival
Hadong Wild Tea Culture Festival 'Last Place'... Also Highest Decrease Rate
Most Visitors Overall: Boryeong Mud Festival... 840,000
Despite Kim Gun-hee's Efforts... 'Mosi Culture Festival' Tourist Numbers Last

The number of visitors to more than 1,000 large and small local festivals held nationwide was also scattered. While festivals with many visitors attracted more than 100,000 people per day, some festivals had fewer than 5,000 visitors per day. There is a growing call for differentiated strategies for local festivals to focus more on substance rather than short-term visitor attraction in the future.

On the 15th, Asia Economy analyzed data from 86 festivals targeted for the pilot evaluation of cultural tourism festivals by the Korea Tourism Organization's Data Lab. According to the analysis, the festival with the highest average daily visitors in 2023 was the Bucheon International Comics Festival, recording 120,578 visitors per day. The comics festival was held for four days (September 14 to September 17), with 325,375 local visitors, 156,454 non-local visitors, and 481 foreign visitors, totaling 482,310 visitors.

First held in 1998, the comics festival is a specialized festival for the activation of the comics industry and business of domestic and international comic productions. It is analyzed that the festival attracted many tourists due to its clear content and proximity to Seoul. A representative of the comics festival said, "Bucheon City supports the comics festival with an annual budget of around 1 billion KRW," adding, "The city's active support and investment, along with diverse programs, are cited as factors for the festival's popularity."

On July 19, the day the Chosun Maritime Festival began at Ulsan Ilsan Beach, props for commemorative photo shoots were set up on the beach. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Heo Young-han

Following were the Jeju Fire Festival with 97,456 visitors, the Nostalgic Chungjang Festival (Gwangju) with 93,160 visitors, Bupyeong Pungbul Festival with 86,542 visitors, Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival with 85,641 visitors, and Wonju Hanji Cultural Festival with 82,540 visitors. These festivals were mostly held in large cities such as the metropolitan area and metropolitan cities or in regions already famous as tourist destinations like Jeju and Pohang. The professionalism of the festival as well as the population density of the venue act as key factors influencing the success of the festival.

The festival with the lowest average daily visitors was the Hadong Wild Tea Culture Festival. Last year, the Wild Tea Culture Festival had an average daily visitor count of 4,972. The festival lasted 31 days (May 4 to June 3) and recorded 53,789 local visitors, 100,273 non-local visitors, and 62 foreign visitors, totaling 154,124 visitors. Compared to the 85th-ranked Hansan Mosi Cultural Festival's average daily visitors (10,010), it is about half. The Hadong festival is held in Hadong, located at the southernmost tip of Gyeongsangnam-do, which has relatively low accessibility, and the festival's low recognition seems to have limited its ability to attract tourists.

However, Hadong County Office explained the low average daily visitors at the Hadong Wild Tea Culture Festival by saying, "Last year, to promote Hadong tea worldwide, the existing festival was held in the form of an expo lasting 31 days," adding, "The Korea Tourism Organization Data Lab only counted visitors at one main venue, but there were two venues where main programs were held, and considering the longer duration compared to other festivals, the visitor count cannot be considered low."

The Boryeong Mud Festival Tops Total Visitors as an 'Experiential' Festival... Gokseong World Rose Festival Has the Highest External Visitor Rate

Boryeong Mud Festival.

The festival with the highest total number of visitors was the Boryeong Mud Festival, recording 841,990 visitors. The mud festival lasted 17 days (July 21 to August 6), with 225,506 local visitors, 614,824 non-local visitors, and 1,660 foreign visitors. Started in 2002, the mud festival is an experiential festival where participants of all nationalities, languages, and ages cover themselves in mud and roll around in the mudflats. It is praised for effectively highlighting Boryeong's regional characteristics. Although it remains the most visited festival nationwide, the number of tourists has decreased compared to when it once attracted over 2 million visitors. This decline is attributed to the increase of summer festivals such as Waterbomb, which have drawn visitors away.

Mrs. Kim Geon-hee is clapping at the opening ceremony of the 33rd Hansan Mosi Cultural Festival held last year at the Hansan Mosi Center Eum Stage in Seocheon-gun, Chungnam. Photo by Yonhap News

The festival with the lowest total visitors was the Hansan Mosi Cultural Festival (30,030 visitors). The Mosi Cultural Festival, held for three days (June 9 to June 11), attracted 14,713 local visitors, 15,316 non-local visitors, and 1 foreign visitor. Starting as the Jeosan Cultural Festival in 1989 and held in Seosan, Chungnam, the Mosi Cultural Festival is the only traditional textile festival in Korea. It aims to promote Hansan Mosi weaving, designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, and to preserve and inherit traditional culture. Last year, Kim Keon-hee, spouse of President Yoon Suk-yeol and honorary chairperson of the 'Year of Visit Korea,' attended and gave a speech at the opening ceremony.

In terms of the ratio of external visitors (non-locals and foreigners), the Gokseong World Rose Festival, held for ten days from May 20 to 29 last year, had the highest rate at 88.05%. The lowest was the Wonju Dynamic Dancing Carnival, held for three days from September 22 to 24, with 17.9%. This means that Gokseong attracted many visitors from outside the region, while most visitors to Wonju were locals.

The Gokseong festival also showed a high increase rate of 68.78% in average daily visitors in 2023 compared to 2022. Among 72 festivals with data for both 2022 and 2023, 40 saw a decrease in visitors in 2023 compared to 2022, so the World Rose Festival's higher performance is notable. On the other hand, the festival with the largest decrease in average daily visitors was the Hadong Wild Tea Culture Festival (-61.96%). The Gokseong festival offers a spectacular sight with a large rose garden of 75,000㎡ planted with about 1,000 varieties of rare European roses. The festival venue, Seomjingang Train Village, is a 7-minute walk from Gokseong Station, and this high accessibility is believed to have greatly influenced the number of tourists.

The scene of the Gokseong World Rose Festival.

Highly Effective for Short-Term Visitor Attraction... The Key is 'Regional Characteristics'

From the perspective of local governments, festivals can bring the effect of 'regional economic revitalization' by increasing short-term tourist inflow and creating jobs. They aim to attract tourists and expand consumer spending by utilizing regional tourism resources such as local specialties, cultural heritage, history and figures, and natural environment. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the total economic ripple effect of 21 cultural tourism festivals is about 176.8 to 182 billion KRW. The average ripple effect per festival is 8.5 billion KRW, with employment inducement effects of 12 people and job inducement effects of 7 people. Even if festivals do not necessarily lead to regional economic revitalization, they can serve as a means to attract both local and external visitors, and local governments can produce visible results in the form of visitor numbers. This is why 1,129 local festivals were held nationwide as of 2023.

However, as competition to host festivals intensifies, poor festival management and lack of differentiated content have been pointed out as problems. For example, inviting famous pop singers may be effective for short-term visitor attraction but fails to create festivals that reflect regional characteristics, thus hindering sustainable tourism. A tourism expert said, "One reason festivals lose their uniqueness is the one-time method of inviting popular singers," adding, "While it can boost visitor numbers, it is difficult to give the festival a special meaning."