Opens on the 27th for four days of performances, experiences, and special discount sales
The signature winter festival of Uljin in North Gyeongsang Province, the "2026 Uljin Daege and Red Snow Crab Festival," will be held for four days from February 27 to March 2 at Wangdolcho Plaza in Hupo Port and the surrounding area.
This festival has been organized to widely promote the quality and brand value of Uljin Daege, which is caught in the clean waters of Wangdolcho in the East Sea. It is being developed not only as a food-centered event, but as a stay-type cultural festival that combines hands-on experiences, performances, and tourism.
This year’s festival, under the slogan “Our Daege, the Real Daege, Uljin Daege,” will shine a spotlight on the historical significance and differentiated competitiveness of Uljin Daege. A promotional pavilion introducing the origins of Geoil Village, known as the original snow crab fishing village, and a Uljin Daege pop-up store will be operated. In addition, the new festival character “Daebbang-i” will encourage tourist participation through photo zones and on-site events.
On the first day of the festival, performances by local artists will set the mood, and on the second day, the signature program “Township Snow Crab Tug-of-War,” a competition between towns and townships, will provide a venue for harmony between local residents and visitors. At the opening ceremony that follows, a Uljin Daege flash mob performance, along with celebratory stages by singers Park Seojin and Park Joohee, is expected to further heighten the festive atmosphere.
On the third day, the “Talent Show: Crab-tastic Stage,” with a total prize pool of 2.4 million won, and performances by Jung Sooyun and Jin Haesung are scheduled, strengthening visitor-participation content. A giant marinated crab bibimbap performance and free tasting event will also be held so that visitors can experience Uljin’s signature generosity.
As permanent programs, a red snow crab fishing experience and on-the-spot snow crab auctions will be operated, and there will be opportunities to enjoy Uljin Daege and red snow crab at reasonable prices through a special sale limited to 100 boxes per day and a free crab meat rice bowl event.
In particular, this year’s festival will expand its marine tourism elements by operating a shuttle boat connecting Hupo Marina Port and the festival grounds, as well as a free yacht boarding experience. Visitors are expected to enjoy a unique tourism experience by appreciating the marine scenery of Hupo Port from the sea. In addition, there will be programs to stimulate local consumption through a receipt event linked to neighborhood businesses, as well as children’s hands-on activities such as VR sketching, caricature drawing, and making aqua moss keyrings.
An official from Uljin County said, “This is an opportunity to appreciate the true value of Uljin Daege, nurtured by the pristine environment of Wangdolcho,” adding, “We hope this festival, which blends gastronomy, performances, and hands-on experiences, will establish itself as a leading tourism content for early spring on the East Coast.”
The Uljin Daege Festival is regarded as a symbolic example of a high value-added regional branding strategy that goes beyond a simple local specialty consumption event to integrate marine ecology, fishing traditions, and tourism content. In particular, the effort to expand the differentiated natural asset of Wangdolcho through storytelling, while simultaneously strengthening maritime experiences, performances, and links to local commercial districts, can be seen as part of a strategy to connect the festival to a virtuous cycle in the regional economy. By capturing off-season marine tourism demand and encouraging stay-type spending, the Uljin Daege Festival has strong potential to become a key platform that determines the competitiveness of winter tourism along the East Coast.
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