Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival Proves Its Value to the Local Economy... Achieves Grand Prize for Third Consecutive Year

210,000 Visitors and 15.6 Billion Won in Economic Impact Last Year
Building a Sustainable Festival Model by Integrating Local Agriculture and Tourism

Hamyang-gun's flagship event, the Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival, received the Grand Prize in the Festival Economy category for the third consecutive year at the "2026 14th Korea Festival Content Awards" ceremony held on the 24th at the convention hall of the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul.

This award was given in recognition of several factors: the distinctiveness of the "cultivated wild ginseng" content utilizing local specialty products; its contribution to increasing farm household income and revitalizing the local economy; and the operation of a variety of experiential programs that enhanced visitor satisfaction. Through this, the Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival has once again proven its status as one of Korea's leading industry-oriented festivals.

Hamyang-gun, Group Photo at the 14th Korea Festival Content Awards Ceremony (2026)

The Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival has established itself as an industry-oriented festival centered on local specialty products, building a festival model that links local agriculture with tourism. In particular, last year's festival attracted more than 210,000 visitors and is estimated to have generated approximately 15.6 billion won in direct economic effects.

It is also being evaluated as contributing to enhancing the value of the regional brand by operating programs that connect wellness tourism with the anti-aging image associated with wild ginseng.

An official from Hamyang-gun said, "Taking this award as an opportunity, we plan to further enhance the completeness of the festival," adding, "We will strengthen content linked to local specialty products and continuously discover programs that can satisfy tourists."

Meanwhile, Hamyang-gun plans to present even fresher and more sophisticated programs at the 21st Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival to be held this year, and to actively attract tourists by strengthening pre-event promotional marketing.