Gurye-gun Cancels Jirisan Namakje and County Residents' Day Events

A Millennium-Old Tradition Cannot Escape COVID-19

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yuk Miseok] Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 13th that it has decided to cancel the ‘Jirisan Namakje and Residents' Day Event’ scheduled from the 17th to the 19th.

The Jirisan Namakje is a traditional ritual that has been carried on for a thousand years from the Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon dynasties, where the state directly sent officiants to perform the central ritual (中祀).

This year, starting with the Namak ritual praying for the nation's peace and prosperity, various cultural events such as the green tea offering ceremony at the green tea planting site, performances by eup/myeon nongak groups, eup/myeon yutnori competitions, street ssireum wrestling contests, along with the Residents' Day commemorative ceremony and residents' harmony sports competition were prepared.

Lee Jong-seok, the promotion committee chairman, said, “We have worked hard to restore the Namak ritual procession and to have it designated as a national intangible cultural asset, so it is very disappointing, but it was an unavoidable decision to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the local community.”

The county canceled the Gurye Sansuyu Flower Festival and Seomjingang Cherry Blossom Festival in March, closed parts of the festival sites, and operated fever screening stations along major roads, concentrating all administrative efforts to maintain a COVID-19 clean area.

County Governor Kim Soon-ho said, “Gurye is a representative tourist city of the southern region, and the cancellation of all spring festivals and cultural events has caused great difficulties for the local economy. We have prepared and are implementing various measures to help small business owners and low-income groups, so we ask residents to actively participate in social distancing campaigns to help end COVID-19 early.”

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