Yangsan City Holds Evaluation Report Meeting for 'Yangsan Sapryang Cultural Festival'

Confirmation of Successful Hosting of Local Festival Based on History and Tradition

The Yangsan Sapryang Cultural Festival Promotion Committee (Chairman Na Dong-yeon) held an evaluation report meeting on the 20th to review the achievements of the Yangsan Sapryang Cultural Festival, a representative local festival, and discuss development plans.

Yangsan Sapryang Cultural Festival Evaluation Meeting. Provided by Yangsan City

The 2024 Yangsan Sapryang Cultural Festival was held for three days from October 4 to 6, and it was recorded that over 100,000 people visited during the festival period, marking the highest number since the big data analysis by mobile carriers began.

It was also analyzed that about 80% of the visitors were local residents, confirming once again that many residents attend and enjoy the festival. Additionally, approximately 20%, or about 20,000 visitors, were from outside the region, indicating a significant number of tourists visited Yangsan during the festival period.

Held under the theme "Beyond the Nakdong River, Yangsan's Light to the World," the festival enhanced the autumn festival atmosphere by installing landscape lighting along the Yangsancheon riverside walking trail even before the event started, and opened the festival with a traditional ritual honoring the Three Loyal Martyrs on the morning of the opening day.

Furthermore, to promote the meaning of "Sapryang," the old name of Yangsan, the Sapryang History Zone was operated with the theme of Park Je-sang, a loyal subject of Silla. The festival also hosted the Samjangsu Body Fitness Competition and the Samjangsu Spirit Dance Contest, continuing the spirit of the three brothers Lee Jing-seok, Jing-ok, and Jing-gyu, military officers from early Joseon who were natives of Yangsan.

In addition, meaningful and diverse programs were prepared, such as a floating footbridge reproducing the Gukgye Bridge that actually existed on Yangsancheon until the 20th century, and a Sapryang Whale Island visit event. These programs were well organized to align with the festival's purpose of "succession and development of tradition and history."

During this report meeting, results of the overall festival content were reported and points for improvement were discussed. Various opinions were raised, including strengthening the identity as a representative local festival, strategies to attract more external tourists, differentiation and diversification of food offerings, and improvement of side events. It is expected that future festivals will actively review and reflect these opinions to proceed in a more progressive direction.

Chairman Na Dong-yeon stated, "This year's festival was a great success with over 100,000 visitors gathering for the diverse content based on history and tradition, fully demonstrating our citizens' passion for culture and arts," and added, "We will continue to strive tirelessly so that the festival can grow into a renowned event not only locally but nationwide."