Conflict over 'Sancheoneo Festival' Intensifies... Animal Groups Say "Proceeding Despite New Coronavirus, Will Self-Destruct"

Mention of Novelist Lee Oisoo's Remarks from the Previous Day

On the morning of the 8th, tourists visiting the '2020 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival' held around Hwacheoncheon in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon, are enjoying Sancheoneo fishing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] In response to some criticism surrounding the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival in Gangwon Province, novelist Lee Oisoo strongly rebutted, while animal rights groups issued a statement to counter his remarks. The conflict surrounding the Sancheoneo Festival is intensifying.

The "Save Sancheoneo Movement Headquarters," consisting of 11 animal rights and civic groups, released a statement on the 10th criticizing the festival, saying, "Since the festival attracts a large number of tourists from China and frequent contact is inevitable, the event should be considered for closure as a preventive measure."

They added, "The headquarters has filed a complaint against the Sancheoneo Festival for violating the Animal Protection Act," and conveyed the critical remarks of global environmental activist Jane Goodall and Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae, who condemned the festival for abusing animals for entertainment, amusement, and profit, and for promoting desensitization to killing among children, calling it an anti-educational event.

They stated, "As this type of festival is uncritically accepted and replicated by various local governments, issues such as animal abuse, disregard for life, and environmental damage to river ecosystems, which have been reduced to mere festival venues, are significantly increasing," and pointed out, "Institutional measures such as mandatory prior environmental impact assessments at the festival planning stage must be urgently implemented."

In particular, they criticized novelist Lee Oisoo’s rebuttal to the criticism of the Sancheoneo Festival, in which he said it was "like sprinkling royal salt on the butchered Hwacheon residents." They said, "Although he claims to be speaking for Hwacheon residents, his words actually underestimate them," and questioned, "Does this mean that Hwacheon residents cannot hold any festival without indiscriminate abuse and killing?"

They added, "This model of festival is not sustainable going forward," and emphasized, "We are not demanding the complete cessation of the festival itself, but rather its reorganization into life- and ecology-friendly programs."

Finally, the group stated, "If the Sancheoneo Festival boasts the title of 'Korea’s representative festival' and receives full government support, it requires behavior befitting its status rather than a 'victim cosplay' attitude," and raised the level of criticism by saying, "If it continues to be defensive and evasive, the festival will self-destruct due to its recklessness, golden-money worship, and anti-environmental and anti-life characteristics."

Lee Oisoo, who serves as the promotional ambassador for Hwacheon County and the Sancheoneo Festival, emphasized on his Facebook the day before, "Hwacheon County is the local government with the lowest financial independence," and "The Sancheoneo Festival generated about 130 billion won in revenue. This was possible because Hwacheon’s river water is first-class." He stressed that it is not an environmentally destructive festival. He also rebutted the animal groups’ claims by saying, "Although not perfect, festival organizers are constantly thinking about and researching improvement and supplementation measures for the problems."

He further criticized, saying, "How many animals suffer or are abused while being raised for human tables?" and added, "I want to plead with animal protection groups and the Environment Minister to teach us how to roast gravel or boil sand," sarcastically.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.