Gwangyang Maehwa Festival 'D-2'... City Makes Final Preparations for the Event

Final Progress Briefing Held at City Hall's Creativity Room
Mayor Jung Inhwa Calls for "Meticulous Simulations"

With just two days left until the opening of the 24th Gwangyang Maehwa Festival, which heralds the arrival of spring in South Korea, the city of Gwangyang is making final, all-out preparations to ensure a safe and pleasant festival venue.

On the 5th, Gwangyang City announced that it had held the final briefing session on the progress of the 24th Gwangyang Maehwa Festival, chaired by Mayor Jung Inhwa, at the City Hall's Creativity Room on the 4th.

Scenery of the Maehwa Festival site last year. Provided by Gwangyang City

More than 40 heads of relevant departments attended the briefing. The meeting proceeded with a comprehensive report on the implementation plan by Kim Miran, head of the Tourism Division, followed by sharing of progress by each department, and discussions on issues and areas for improvement.

Celebrating its 24th edition this year, the Gwangyang Maehwa Festival will be held from the 7th under the theme "Spring in Korea, Opening in Maehwa Village," with the slogan "The Moment Maehwa Blooms, The Time Spring Arrives," aiming to deliver ten days of special inspiration to visitors.

The city plans to promote mutual growth, cooperation, and sustainability that satisfy both local residents and tourists by expanding resident participation, improving the transportation system, enhancing new content related to Maehwa and Maesil, and strengthening linked programs.

This year's festival will introduce a variety of unique experiences, such as the Korea Tourism Top 100 Tour to rediscover the charm of Gwangyang Maehwa Village, which is listed among Korea's top 100 tourist attractions, as well as yacht rides and hot air balloon experiences on the Seomjingang River.

In addition, to appeal to various generations and preferences, the festival has broadened its spectrum by offering diverse experience programs such as the Maedori Land Experience Zone, Maehwa Village Photo Booth, Maedori Goods Shop, and Maehwa Woodcraft Experience.

Measures have also been put in place to address chronic traffic congestion and parking shortages. The city will operate weekend shuttle buses connecting the downtown area (Gwangyang Tourist Information Center) and the festival site, and will expand the shuttle bus system within the festival venue to two routes.

Furthermore, popular programs that attracted nationwide attention last year, such as "Maesil Dama Gwangyang Dosirak" (Gwangyang Lunchbox with Maesil) and "Gwangyang Matbogi" (Gwangyang Tasting), will return this year. The city also aims to further stabilize the "Three No's" festival: car-free streets, no single-use products, and no price gouging.

Focusing on visitor safety, the city will concentrate its administrative efforts on providing real-time traffic updates, installing additional restrooms, and strengthening crackdowns on illegal street vendors and night markets to ensure a joyful and comfortable festival environment. Additionally, to create a festival buzz, the city plans to conduct comprehensive promotional activities by continuously sharing blooming updates, programs, and events through various on- and offline channels such as newspapers, broadcasting, and social media.

Above all, based on the outstanding competitiveness of Gwangyang Maehwa Village, the city aims to elevate the festival to the status of a national cultural tourism festival by developing programs and a systematic system befitting its three-year streak as Jeollanam-do's representative festival.

Mayor Jung Inhwa stated, "As this festival signals the arrival of spring in Korea, I ask everyone to do their utmost to ensure that it receives acclaim from citizens as a distinguished and high-quality event based on differentiated content and the voluntary participation of local residents, so that it can be recognized not only as Jeollanam-do's representative festival but also as Korea's leading festival."

He added, "Please thoroughly check safety, transportation, and emergency medical support to minimize the gap between plans and reality, and conduct meticulous simulations of visitor flow, restrooms, and waste disposal sites to create a pleasant and safe festival environment and enhance tourism readiness."

Meanwhile, on the 6th, Gwangyang City will form a joint safety inspection team for the Gwangyang Maehwa Festival with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Jeollanam-do, Gwangyang Fire Station, and Gwangyang Police Station to focus on inspecting the safety of facilities, electricity, transportation, and fire prevention.