Sinan-gun Spring Flower Festival Canceled: "See You Next Year, Daffodils"

Daffodils in full bloom on Seondo, Jido-eup, Sinan-gun (Photo by Reader)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Park Woo-ryang) had planned to hold the "1004 Island Narcissus Festival," which marks the starting point of the evergreen ecological environment and flowers blooming in all four seasons, but it was canceled to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the local community.

Last year, the first festival attracted about 20,000 tourists and recorded an economic effect of 2 billion KRW. This year, it was also scheduled to be held from the 6th to the 9th in Seondo, Jido-eup.

The Narcissus Festival is held on the small island of Seondo in Jido-eup, but it takes place over the largest nationwide area of 12.3 hectares, with 27 main varieties and about 100 world varieties planted over 7 hectares, providing various attractions for tourists.

In Seondo, Jido-eup, grandmother Hyun Bok-soon (90 years old), known as the Narcissus Lady, has been collecting about 10 species of world narcissus for over 10 years and planting them in her front yard, filling the air with the scent of narcissus every March to April, bringing joy to the village residents.

Sinan-gun has linked the natural scenery and the story of the Narcissus Lady to create a 7-hectare narcissus cultivation site in Seondo, Jido, since autumn 2018, activating tourism agriculture through harvesting narcissus bulbs and holding a resident-led festival, making it an island everyone wants to visit.

Park Ran-hee (51, female, residing in Namyangju), who is from Seondo, Jido-eup, said, "The small island of Seondo, with about 150 residents, held the Narcissus Festival, and I was very happy to visit the festival with acquaintances living in Namyangju. I promised to go with more people this year, but it is regrettable that the festival was canceled. I hope to see the fully bloomed narcissus next year."

Sinan-gun had prepared various attractions and experiential events such as narcissus island walking, bicycle tours, spring flower pot making, Seondo Academy, beach Nordic walking experience, and sail yacht activities.

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