'Seoul's Representative Festival' Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival Also 'Canceled'

The 13th Maponaru Saeujeot Festival Scheduled for 15 Days from October 15 Fully Canceled... Saeujeot Festival, a Seoul City Representative Brand Festival, Regrettable Decision for Residents' Safety

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) has decided to fully cancel the '13th Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival,' which was planned to be held contactlessly and untact for 15 days from October 15 at seven local tourist attractions (Culture Storage Base, Hangang Citizens' Park Mangwon District, Gwangheungdang, Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine, etc.).

This decision was made by the district to prioritize the safety and health of residents and tourists amid the recent resurgence of COVID-19, the elevation of social distancing to level 2, and the dangerous situation where infections can occur anytime and anywhere due to the spread of COVID-19 from Seoul and the metropolitan area.

The 'Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival,' preparing for its 13th edition this year, is a well-established Seoul city brand festival attracting over 650,000 visitors annually. It recreates the old appearance of Mapo Naru, a major port that supplied saeujeot (fermented shrimp), salt, and various cultural goods to Hanyang in the past, offering diverse experiences such as making saeujeot and saeujeot kimchi, along with abundant attractions.

Notably, the '12th Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival' held last year achieved remarkable success by earning the first-ever 'Grade A' in the Seoul City Festival Evaluation and winning the 'Gold Award' in the Live Event category at the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

Since the beginning of this year, due to COVID-19, the festival's direction was set to be safe and healthy from the planning stage. The festival was to be transformed into a new saeujeot festival with rich content, including changing the venue, online saeujeot sales, drive-in performances, and online experience events related to saeujeot.

Utilizing the experience the district has prepared and promoted in various ways, once the COVID-19 situation stabilizes, it is expected to develop diverse content suitable for the post-COVID-19 era to invigorate local culture and arts.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "We had prepared to bring vitality to the lives of many suffering from COVID-19 through our district's representative festival, the Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival, but we have had to cancel the festival for the health and safety of residents." He added, "Once the COVID-19 situation calms down, we will make ample time to help residents overcome 'coronablue' and provide opportunities for cultural artists to perform on stage."

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