Enhanced Specialty Foods and Hands-On Content Boost Satisfaction to 87 Points
Festival Aims to Shift Toward Stay-Type Tourism Next Year
County Governor Kim Dongon is holding the 2025 Chili Pepper and Red Pepper Festival performance report meeting in the county office's main conference room on the 28th.
The 2025 Cheongyang Chili Pepper and Red Pepper Festival, the signature festival of Cheongyang, has successfully concluded, attracting over 100,000 visitors through a branding strategy centered on specialized food offerings featuring chili peppers and red peppers.
The county government announced that it improved the quality of food, which had been an issue in previous years, and strengthened hands-on content, resulting in increased satisfaction and a higher intention to revisit compared to the previous year.
On the 28th, Cheongyang County held a festival performance report meeting attended by the Cheongyang Chili Pepper and Red Pepper Festival Promotion Committee and about 50 related public officials, where they discussed the outcomes and future development plans. This was announced on the 29th.
According to the county, a total of 101,215 people visited the festival. The combined score for overall satisfaction, intention to revisit, and willingness to recommend reached 87.05 points, an increase from the previous year. The survey was conducted on-site through structured one-on-one interviews.
This year’s festival completely reorganized the event layout and established a chili pepper and red pepper specialty food zone in connection with rural experience and recreation villages, encouraging visitors to stay longer and engage in on-site consumption.
Flagship programs such as large-scale kimchi-making and a red pepper rice cake mosaic were newly revamped, receiving enthusiastic responses from family visitors.
Additionally, the wood culture experience zone, Pinkfong Company's "Bebe Finn Happy Concert," mandatory use of reusable containers as an eco-friendly initiative, and adjustments to the Cheongyang Love Parade route were also positively received.
In particular, the comprehensive improvement in the quality and operation of food offerings was highlighted as a "tangible change."
However, the lack of connection between the festival and existing tourism resources, the limitations of sensory-stimulating content, and insufficient parking space were identified as areas for improvement.
The survey found that over 80% of visitors were day-trippers, indicating the need for a strategy to encourage longer stays through expanded nighttime programs and the development of linked tourism products.
Chairman Lee Dongsu of the Promotion Committee stated, "Despite fierce competition among festivals, the Cheongyang Chili Pepper and Red Pepper Festival has achieved differentiated results. We will continue to seek development strategies together with residents."
County Governor Kim Dongon said, "This year’s festival was meaningful in that we boldly broke away from the old framework and presented a new direction. We achieved two major outcomes: revitalizing the local economy and enhancing the tourism brand. Next year, we will address shortcomings and strive to become the nation’s leading agricultural specialty festival."
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