Held Until the 20th with Gaecheon Arts Festival and KDF
The '2024 Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival,' held in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, a world-renowned festival city, will begin on the 5th and illuminate Jinju's autumn nights with splendid lanterns for 16 days until the 20th.
During the festival, the 'Gaecheon Art Festival' will take place from the 10th to the 20th, and the 'Korea Drama Festival (KDF)' from the 11th to the 20th, making Jinju's October festivities even more vibrant.
To globalize the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival and attract foreign tourists, Jinju City has prepared new and diverse content, such as lanterns representing K-culture with motifs like Squid Game and BTS, as well as lanterns depicting UAM and satellites to build the image of an aerospace city.
This year, the festival grounds will expand to include the Jinju Great Victory History Park, completed after 17 years, in addition to the lantern park created in 2022, the Mulbit Naru Rest Area, the Kim Simin-ho (cruise ship), and the Jinju Namgang Lantern Exhibition Hall, which opened in 2023.
Jinju City is providing even more attractions and entertainment by expanding lantern installations to the Gaecheon Art Festival and Korea Drama Festival sections. This year, lanterns will also be installed at the intercity bus terminal, which is expected to help disperse crowds at the festival site.
During the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival, lanterns will be installed at Jinju Fortress, Namgang River, the lantern park, and the Railway Culture Park. Under Chokseoknu Pavilion on the Namgang River, large lanterns representing K-culture, such as the King Sejong statue, Cheomseongdae, and Hanbok Harmony, as well as K-aerospace lanterns like the KF-21, Surion, and UAM, will create a fantastic night view.
The festival's signature attraction, the drone show, will also see many changes. This year, 1,000 drones will perform four shows (scheduled for the 5th, 10th, 12th, and 20th) in Jinju's autumn night sky. Each show will feature unique stories of Jinju, offering another round of inspiration. Fireworks will be held three times during the festival (scheduled for the 5th, 10th, and 20th).
Various hands-on activities will also take place during the festival, including wishing lantern hanging, crossing floating bridges, stamp & treasure tours, hanging hopes on Buja-gil, making and floating lanterns, citizen participation lantern making, and cruise ship experiences.
The 'Gaecheon Art Festival,' designated as the Best Festival of Gyeongsangnam-do for 2024-2025 and now in its 73rd year, will be held for 11 days from October 10th to 20th, starting with the opening ceremony on the special stage in front of the Imjin War Memorial at Jinju Fortress.
To facilitate transportation for visitors, Jinju City has prepared 17 temporary parking lots with 9,117 spaces around the city entrance, one lot with 200 spaces for tour buses, and three lots with 1,017 spaces near the festival site. Additionally, 12 lots with 1,482 spaces have been set up for nearby residents, providing a total of 33 temporary parking lots with about 12,000 spaces for convenience.
On the festival opening day, October 5th, and on October 9th (Hangeul Day), as well as Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays when large crowds are expected, 78 free shuttle buses will operate on seven routes (Innovation City - in front of Wing Tower, Innovation City - Seogyeong Broadcasting site, Agricultural Wholesale Market, Jinju Station, Jeongchon Namjinju Hyundai Service, Jinju Public Stadium, Sinanpyeong Riverside Road) from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. The free shuttle buses use dedicated lanes, allowing for quick transportation from temporary parking lots to the festival site.
A Jinju City official said, "We expect more than one million visitors again this year. We ask everyone to actively participate in using public transportation and refraining from using personal vehicles. We also encourage Jinju citizens to visit the festival site on weekdays if possible."
This year's Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival will begin with the Chohon Lighting Ceremony on October 5th, lighting up over 70,000 lanterns, and will conclude its 16-day journey with the final drone and fireworks shows on October 20th.
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