[Interview] Lee Yongyeol, CEO of Boryeong Festival and Tourism Foundation: "We Will Highlight the Unique Features of Our Signature Festival"

“Fulfilling the Role of Marketing and Selling Diverse Tangible and Intangible Tourism Resources”

CEO Yongyeol Lee of Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation / Photo by Byungryul Lee

Chungnam Boryeong City has appointed Lee Yongyeol, who is not a former public official, as the new CEO of the Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation.

Lee, who previously served as Secretary-General of the Boryeong Mud Festival Organizing Committee, is leading a new leap forward by pledging to reorganize the organization, improve the working environment, strengthen professionalism, develop new tourism products, and ensure transparent management, moving away from the passive management style of previous CEOs.

Lee is credited with elevating the Boryeong Mud Festival, Daecheon Winter Sea Love Festival, year-round festival operations, Mud Museum management, and the Cultural Heritage Night Tour, among other foundation businesses, to the status of Korea's leading festivals.

The following is a Q&A with Lee regarding the 28th Boryeong Mud Festival, the creation of a four-season tourism destination, Oseom Island, and other current issues and challenges.

-You are the first civilian CEO to be appointed among public institutions under Boryeong City. The role of the Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation seems especially important amid the crisis of regional depopulation.

△I believe that overcoming the crisis of regional depopulation and revitalizing the tourism industry by expanding the influx of resident-type populations is a critical task.

The Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation began in 2011 as the Boryeong Mud Festival Organizing Committee, a foundation dedicated solely to the Mud Festival, at the point when the Boryeong Mud Festival graduated as a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism-designated representative festival. The aim was to strengthen the festival's self-sufficiency and professionalism.

In 2018, the foundation took over the Mud Cosmetics business previously operated by the city, changing its name to the Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation. In 2022, with the opening of the Marine Mud Expo, the Boryeong Mud Theme Park was completed, and the foundation began operating both the convention center and mud hall.

In this way, the Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation has grown beyond a public institution that simply hosts festivals; it now manages and operates the mud cosmetics business and the MICE industry, establishing itself as the region's leading tourism-specialized institution.

The foundation's role in Boryeong is, above all, to flawlessly execute the various festivals and tourism projects entrusted by the city, and to act as a professional group with a business mindset that markets and sells Boryeong's diverse tangible and intangible tourism resources, in line with the city's development into a global four-season marine tourism city with unlimited growth potential.

-Having risen internally from Secretary-General of the Mud Festival Organizing Committee to CEO, there are expectations that you will excel in organizational management. What are the current issues and future tasks for the Boryeong Festival Tourism Foundation?

△The foundation has 30 employees and operates under a system of one office and three departments, with fewer than 10 staff in each. I believe the most important factor in discovering and implementing projects for Boryeong's tourism development is selection and concentration.

Although each department pursues separate projects, I believe it is necessary to shift to a method where everyone unites and shares projects beyond departmental boundaries for a common goal, and I will work towards this.

We are preparing to reorganize the structure. I am planning to reintegrate the organization to enhance communication, expedite project implementation, and improve problem-solving capabilities within the one office, three department system.

We are also considering developing new in-house tourism products that involve all sectors: festivals, mud cosmetics, and conventions. Whether it will be a festival, exhibition, or expo is yet to be determined. By listening to expert opinions and having staff from all departments collaborate on a single project, I believe both staff capabilities and project quality will improve.

Improving employee welfare is also a very important issue. To instill pride in the foundation and the belief that employees can continue to grow and develop with the organization, realistic improvements for motivation and morale are needed. This will strengthen the foundation's professionalism and serve as a stepping stone to becoming Korea's leading festival tourism foundation.

This year's city administration goal for Boryeong is "The Heart of Carbon Neutrality in Korea! Boryeong." The foundation already declared ESG management last year and is engaged in transparent management and community contributions, but I believe we must take more active steps toward carbon neutrality. Employees themselves should establish and implement low-carbon plans with eco-friendly considerations, both in the office and during festivals.

-Although the Boryeong Mud Festival, the city's representative festival, has been held 27 times, there are criticisms among citizens that the local economic impact is not strongly felt and local participation is low.

△Since the Boryeong Mud Festival started as a regional development festival with the main goal of revitalizing the local economy by attracting tourists, it may feel like there is relatively less local participation compared to other festivals held in the area.

Externally, the festival has firmly established Boryeong's brand and its image as a "Mud City," which is a very positive effect. However, we plan to actively seek ways to expand local participation and connect external tourists visiting the Mud Festival with inland tourist sites and local "matjip" (famous restaurants).

To address these points, we are developing measures to strengthen local participation this year. Instead of food trucks, we will create a local food zone where local restaurants can participate, and a local delivery zone will be operated so that restaurants near the beach, which may find direct participation difficult, can also join in.

In particular, the Citizen Culture Festival will be expanded as an event where all citizens can participate and enjoy together, commemorating the 30th anniversary of city-county integration.

We will also set up a separate youth participation booth to encourage active involvement from local youth, and operate a local incentive system where visitors who spend a certain amount locally will receive discounts at the mud experience zone, thereby stimulating tourist spending.

-Boryeong City is conducting various festival projects under the theme of "four-season tourism." What are the main festivals for each season and the expected effects?

△The foundation plans to host five festivals this year. In April, the Boryeong Cultural Heritage Night Tour, centered around Chungcheong Suyeongseong, will promote local cultural heritage and be prepared as an experiential event for families.

In May, the Boryeong?AMC International Motor Festival will be co-hosted with Ajou Motor College at the Mud Expo Plaza, considering not only car enthusiasts but also families, as May is Family Month.

In July and August, the Boryeong Mud Festival will be held for 17 days from July 25 to August 10. Especially in conjunction with the 2025 Chungnam Year of Visit, related projects will be promoted simultaneously to establish it as a global festival.

In September, the foundation will host the Muchangpo Mystical Sea Road Festival, transforming its content with differentiated and unique items to make it another representative festival of our region.

In December, the Daecheon Winter Sea Love Festival will ensure that Boryeong attracts tourists not only in summer but also in winter.

-With the "West Coast Tourism Belt," there are current issues such as Wonsando and Oseom Islands. What are the foundation's plans and future vision?

△The Oseom Islands Project is a mid- to long-term project to create a global marine leisure tourism city, investing about 3.03 trillion KRW over 11 years from 2022 to 2032.

The foundation plans to promote tourism products and marketing not only for Daecheon Beach but also for Sapsido, Godaedo, Janggodo, and Hyojado, centered on Wonsando, in line with Boryeong City's Oseom Islands Project.

For the Island International Biennale to be held in 2027, we will ensure the event's success by communicating and cooperating with the Biennale Organizing Committee, leveraging the foundation's experience from various events such as the Boryeong Mud Festival.

Wonsando, which connects Taean and Boryeong via an undersea tunnel and bridge, is a key area. We plan to discover unique tourism resources on Wonsando and link them with foundation-led projects such as the Mud Festival to attract tourists to Boryeong and revitalize the local economy.

-Lastly, please share your determination as CEO.

△First, I will do my best to develop and promote four-season representative festivals that highlight the region's unique characteristics and, as an institution under the city, work together with all employees to achieve excellent results in various entrusted projects.