Held at Seven Locations Including Gyeonggijeon, Hanok Village, and Pungpaejigwan
Jeonju City in North Jeolla Province successfully concluded the "2025 Jeonju National Heritage Night Tour" on June 6 and 7 at various locations throughout Jeonju, including Jeonju Hanok Village, Gyeonggijeon, Pungnammun, Jeollagamyeong, Pungpaejigwan, Jeonju Hyanggyo, and Omokdae.
Jeonju City successfully concluded the "2025 Jeonju National Heritage Night Tour" on the 6th and 7th at various locations throughout Jeonju, including Jeonju Hanok Village, Gyeonggijeon, Pungnammun, Jeollagamyeong, Pungpaejigwan, Jeonju Hyanggyo, and Omokdae. Provided by Jeonju City
According to the city on June 9, this year’s festival, marking its 10th anniversary, consisted of 26 programs across 8 categories. The festival underwent a major overhaul of its programs and introduced new events designed to highlight the unique characteristics of each national heritage site. It is being praised for opening a new chapter in festivals that utilize national heritage.
Most notably, the Gyeonggijeon Square, which typically hosts a variety of stage performances each year, was transformed into a massive ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling) arena. Here, the citizen-participation "Gyeonhwon Daewang Ssireum Tournament" and the themed performance "Meeting the Royal Capital," which reinterpreted the history of Later Baekje’s Jeonju through dance, created an unusual and vibrant scene that received an enthusiastic response from both citizens and tourists. Through this, the ssireum arena became more than just a venue for traditional folk games; it served as a valuable opportunity to promote Jeonju, the forgotten royal capital of Later Baekje.
Additionally, the "Night Fortress Walk at the Royal Palace of Later Baekje," a program featuring historical lectures and talk shows, invited Professor Kwak Janggeun (National University of Gunsan) and Director Kim Jindon (Jeonju Cultural Center) to shed new light on the historical significance of Jeonju, a city with a thousand-year-old history, and to provide fresh insights into the Omokdae heritage site within its historical context. This lecture and talk show drew such high interest from night tour participants that reservations were fully booked early on the day they opened.
At Jeonju Hyanggyo, the "Hyanggyo Ghost Story," a hide-and-seek game designed to reflect the history and locality of the hyanggyo, was held. Participants experienced storytelling from the morning of the event day through a pre-established open chat room, and enjoyed a thrilling time as they completed various missions.
In addition, the "Gaksa Yadam" historical storytelling program at Pungpaejigwan captivated many citizens and night tour participants. This program featured a unique format in which household gods who have guarded Jeonju Gaksa since the late Goryeo period shared stories of Jeonju they had witnessed up to the present day. It cleverly and skillfully conveyed both Korean folk beliefs and the long history of Jeonju, attracting a steady stream of visitors eager to hear the tales.
Furthermore, this year’s Jeonju National Heritage Night Tour presented pioneering examples of utilizing national heritage through new content tailored to the historical significance of each venue, such as "In Search of Lost Baekje" (throughout the event area), "Unexpected Gugak" (Pungnammun), and "The Birth of Jeolla Governor" (Jeollagamyeong).
As a result, a total of approximately 102,000 citizens and tourists enjoyed the night tour over the two days. Following this first half of the year’s event, the Jeonju National Heritage Night Tour will once again welcome citizens and tourists with the thousand-year history of Jeonju on September 26 and 27.
A representative of the Jeonju National Heritage Night Tour said, "We were able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Jeonju National Heritage Night Tour thanks to the support of our citizens. We will continue to communicate with citizens and create a festival that widely promotes the history of Jeonju."
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