Cancellation of the 'Seom Byeong-eo Festival,' Shinan's Representative Seafood Event

Scenery of Jido Jeotgal Town where the Island Butterfish Festival was held last year (Photo by Sinan-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Giun] Jeonnam Sinan-gun (Governor Park Woorang) announced on the 8th that it will cancel the ‘Island Croaker Festival,’ a representative seafood festival of Sinan-gun, which was scheduled to be held in Jido-eup in June, to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

The sea in front of Sinan is a mixture of sand and mud with abundant seaweed, making it an ideal habitat for croakers that feed on small shrimp and zooplankton. Sinan is responsible for 60% of the domestic croaker production.

Croaker has tender flesh with a mild taste and no fishy smell, making it suitable even for those who usually do not eat fish. It is popular not only as sashimi but also grilled or braised dishes.

Last year’s two-day Croaker Festival attracted about 4,000 visitors and achieved sales of approximately 120 million won, but this year, the cancellation of the festival has caused great concern for fishermen and local restaurants.

Accordingly, various sales countermeasures will be established, including cooperation with related organizations, promotional campaigns to encourage purchases, and publicity for the Sinan-gun brokerage market, to ensure there are no difficulties in sales channels.

Park Woorang, Governor of Sinan-gun, said, “This year, to block community transmission of COVID-19, it was unavoidable to cancel many seafood festivals (Ganjaemi, Hong-eo, Nakji, Gangdareo, Baendaengi). We plan to prepare a more substantial seafood festival next year and ask for much interest in the excellent seafood from the clean waters of Sinan-gun.”

A Sinan-gun official stated, “We judged that COVID-19 has not subsided recently, and this measure was taken prioritizing the health of residents and the safety of tourists by blocking community infection.”

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