Passed Public Vote and Expert Review
Intensive Government Marketing Support for Two Years
The Nonsan Strawberry Festival in South Chungcheong Province has been included in the "Local 100," a national tourism content list selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Out of approximately 1,000 cultural resources nationwide, the festival passed both a public vote and expert review, officially earning recognition as one of Korea's leading regional festivals.
On February 3, the Nonsan city government announced that the Nonsan Strawberry Festival was ultimately selected as part of the "Local 100" tourism content initiative, jointly promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Regional Culture Promotion Agency.
According to the city, "Local 100" is a national project aimed at discovering and promoting unique regional cultural assets. About 1,000 cultural resources, submitted through recommendations by local governments and the public, underwent a first-round screening to select 200 candidates. The final 100 were then chosen through an online public vote and expert evaluation.
The Nonsan Strawberry Festival, in particular, received high support during the online voting phase, where the public directly participated, demonstrating the festival's strong recognition and completeness.
For the next two years, the Nonsan Strawberry Festival will receive intensive government support for promotion and marketing.
In 2025, the Nonsan Strawberry Festival attracted approximately 530,000 visitors and generated an estimated 20.1 billion won in economic impact. It is regarded as a representative success story of linking local agriculture with tourism.
The city plans to use this "Local 100" selection as an opportunity to strengthen connections with the Nonsan Strawberry World Industry Expo, scheduled to be held in 2027, in order to maximize synergy.
Additionally, by linking the festival with the industry expo, the city aims to enhance the competitiveness of the strawberry industry and expand it into international tourism content.
A city official stated, "This selection is a result of the Nonsan Strawberry Festival's competitiveness and completeness being recognized at the national level," adding, "We will further develop the festival as a convergence content combining the strawberry industry and tourism, and successfully prepare for both this year's festival and the 2027 World Strawberry Industry Expo."
Meanwhile, this year's Nonsan Strawberry Festival is scheduled to take place from March 26 to March 29 for four days at Nonsan Citizen Park.
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