Confirmed at the Geumsan Culture and Tourism Festival Foundation Board Meeting
Next Year’s Foundation Business Plans Also Reviewed and Approved
Scene from the 31st Geumsan Culture and Tourism Festival Foundation Board Meeting (Photo by Geumsan County)
The 44th Geumsan World Ginseng Festival will be held for 10 days from October 2 to October 11, 2026.
The Geumsan Culture and Tourism Festival Foundation confirmed this at its 31st board meeting, which was held on December 11 in the Geumsan Ginseng Center conference room. The decision was made after comprehensive consideration of both internal and external factors, including the Chuseok holiday schedule, autumn weather, ginseng harvest season, and conditions for resident participation.
In particular, to maximize the effect of ginseng sales, the festival period will include the substitute holiday for National Foundation Day and Hangul Day, securing six days of weekends and public holidays during the event.
With the festival dates confirmed, the foundation will begin outlining the 44th Geumsan World Ginseng Festival. On this day, the foundation also deliberated and resolved its business plans for the coming year.
The five festival projects to be promoted are: the 44th Geumsan World Ginseng Festival, the 6th Geumsan Samgyetang Festival, the 2026 Geumsan Bogok Mountain Village Wild Cherry Blossom Festival, new media promotion, and the Township and Village Harmony Day.
Additionally, three tourism projects will be carried out: the Geumsan Stay-type Tourism Revitalization Project, the Influencer Promotional Tour for International Students, and the Geumsan County Sinabro Healing Trail Project.
The foundation also plans to systematically strengthen its operational base by introducing a digital document and accounting system and building a records database (DB).
A report was also presented on the results of the 43rd Geumsan World Ginseng Festival, which was held this year. The festival attracted approximately 985,000 visitors and generated an economic impact of 112.6 billion won, marking a significant step forward as a global festival.
Key factors in the festival's success included the spread of positive perceptions of ginseng among children, the continuous expansion of ginseng use from medicinal purposes to food and beauty, the enhancement of content to attract younger generations, increased opportunities for participation by local cultural and arts organizations and clubs, growing interest from overseas companies in ginseng product sales, and proposals to hold ginseng festivals abroad.
Areas for improvement included focusing and selecting festival content, developing content to attract families, expanding the proportion of social network service (SNS) online promotion, and reducing single-use items while increasing the use of reusable containers.
Park Beomin, Mayor of Geumsan County, stated, "The Geumsan World Ginseng Festival is a valuable event that has been created through the joint efforts of the public and private sectors for over 40 years," adding, "It is now growing beyond the limits of a local festival to become a globally recognized event."
He further remarked, "We will do our utmost to establish the festival as a global event that attracts people from around the world through bold challenges and innovation."
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