Cancellation of Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival Due to COVID-19 Resurgence

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Sharon] Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam Province announced on the 3rd that it will cancel the 59th Hansan Battle Festival, which was scheduled to be held in August.

Tongyeong City decided not to hold the festival this year considering the continuous occurrence of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the metropolitan area, Chungcheong region, and other areas, as well as the successive cases of imported infections from overseas.

However, on August 14, the victory day of the Hansan Battle, a Goyu-je (告由祭) ceremony announcing the cancellation of the festival will be held at Chungnyeolsa Shrine, where the memorial tablet of Admiral Yi Sun-sin is enshrined.

Tongyeong City plans to invest the budget originally intended for the festival into revitalizing the local economy.

The Hansan Battle Festival commemorates the 'Hansan Battle' in which Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated the Japanese navy in the waters off Hansando Island during the Imjin War.

It has been designated as an excellent festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for six consecutive years and is considered one of Korea's representative festivals.

Last year, 310,000 people visited the festival site.

Since the Hansan Battle Festival began in 1962, this is the second time it has been canceled, the first being in 1979 due to martial law.

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