[Digging Travel] Enjoy the 'Goseongbanga (古城放佳)' Festival at Seosan Haemieupseong

Until the 5th, 21st Seosan Haemieupseong Festival
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In Haemi Eupseong Fortress in Seosan City, Chungnam, a 300-year-old pagoda tree stands tall. This tree, reaching about 20 meters in height, has long been regarded as a symbol of good fortune and was commonly seen in royal palaces, Confucian academies, and the gardens of prestigious yangban families. However, contrary to its original meaning, the Haemi Eupseong pagoda tree was used as a place and tool for torture and execution during the Catholic persecutions of the Joseon Dynasty in the 19th century. During the Byeongin Persecution of 1866, when many local Catholics were imprisoned and prison space became insufficient, the tree was used for binding and punishing them. Until recently, marks of wire used to tie the Catholic believers to the old tree trunk remained visible.

Seosan Haemieupseong Festival.
[Photo by Seosan City]

As such, Haemi Eupseong Fortress, an important historical site for Catholicism, has continued to attract visitors since Pope Francis visited 10 years ago to celebrate Mass at the Asian Youth Day. It is a special tourist destination where history and contemporary narratives coexist.

With the heat gone and cool autumn breezes blowing, Seosan City is holding the '21st Seosan Haemi Eupseong Festival' until the 5th in the Haemi Eupseong area to celebrate the festival season. Under the slogan "Open the Eupseong and Meet Wisdom," this festival offers a variety of programs that allow visitors to experience the wisdom of ancestors.

Seosan Haemi Eupseong, a stone fortress built in 1491 during the Joseon Dynasty, is a sacred site of Korean Catholicism. The Haemi Eupseong Festival, which promotes a "Festival of Wisdom and Creativity" by experiencing the ingenuity of ancestors through old tools and items no longer in common use, focuses on a fusion of traditional performances and modern popular arts, as well as attractions and hands-on programs that captivate family visitors.

First, the festival features a fantastic media art show called ‘Mongyusongwon’ presented in the pine forest, along with fresh experiential events such as solar power craft-making and zero-waste bibimbap cooking experiences. Additionally, for the first time this year, the Haemi Street Food Court ‘Haemi Happy Table’ and an autumn sports day-themed ‘Igogigo Relay Race’ will be held to provide fun and promote regional coexistence.

Traditional performance at the Seosan Haemieupseong Festival held last year.
[Photo by Seosan City]

While preparing for this festival, Seosan City discovered 20 precious photos, including a 1935 photo of Haemi Eupseong, a photo in front of the pagoda tree where Catholics were executed, and a 1955 Haemi Elementary School graduation photo. These will be exhibited during the festival in the ‘Haemi Eupseong 1935 Photo Exhibition.’ Alongside the exhibition, an event titled ‘Tell Us Stories from Those Days!’ will be held for local residents who graduated from Haemi Elementary School in the mid-1980s. There will also be a gift-giving event for those who donate old photos of Haemi Eupseong.

The Seosan Haemi Eupseong Festival is taking its first step as an eco-friendly festival this year. Through collaboration with a local Seosan company that manufactures wind turbines, energy generated by turning the turbines will be used to illuminate the main stage area and the entire pedestrian walkway lighting during the festival.

A variety of intergenerational performances for families to enjoy together have also been prepared. On the 4th, the Hyundai Motor Group Philharmonic Orchestra (led by Jeong Seong-rok) will perform under the title ‘Haemi The Classic,’ featuring pieces such as the Carmen Overture, Habanera, Radetzky March, Sound of Music OST, and Phantom of the Opera OST. On the 5th, classical performances by members of the Korean Music Association Seosan branch and a musical gala theater by the musical team ‘Assorted’ will follow.

'The 20th Seosan Haemieupseong Festival' held last year, featuring the 'Children's Carrot Market'
Photo by Seosan City

An event featuring 123 foreign performers from five countries also draws attention. The ‘World Folk Performance,’ involving foreign performers from Colombia, Romania, Poland, South Africa, and Indonesia, will continue until the 5th.

This festival, held at Haemi Eupseong, one of Korea’s three major eupseongs, is a representative festival of Chungnam that began in 2000. It is the only festival in Korea where visitors can experience the military culture and lifestyle of the Joseon Dynasty.

From 2013, it was selected as a promising festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for seven consecutive years and was designated a cultural tourism festival in 2020. Last year, it was the only festival in the Chungnam region selected for the Ministry’s ‘Local 100,’ recognizing the excellence of its content. It was also listed among the ‘K-Culture Tourism Events 100’ hosted by the Korea Tourism Organization.