The 91st Chunhyang Festival Decided to Be Scaled Down Due to COVID-19 Impact

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Nosik] The 91st Chunhyang Festival, a traditional festival of the Republic of Korea, is scheduled to be held on a reduced scale compared to the original plan due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chunhyang Festival Organizing Committee held a meeting on the 16th at the Chunhyang Culture and Arts Center (Small Theater) and approved the agenda to change the event plan for the 91st Chunhyang Festival, announcing on the 17th that the festival would be held on a reduced scale.

The committee originally planned to hold this year’s Chunhyang Festival from April 3 to May 19 at the Gwanghallu Garden area, with strict quarantine measures and controlled attendance, spreading the event over eight weeks on weekends.

However, as outdoor spring outings and private gatherings have recently increased interpersonal contact significantly, leading to multiple COVID-19 cluster infections nationwide, the committee decided to reduce the Chunhyang Festival, originally planned as an offline event, to a non-face-to-face online format to ensure the safety of Namwon citizens and tourists visiting Namwon.

Accordingly, this year’s Chunhyang Festival will be held in a non-face-to-face manner with representative programs such as the Chunhyang Festival Rite, Chunhyang Beauty Pageant, and Chunhyang Gugak Competition on May 16 and 19.

The Chunhyang Festival Rite, a traditional ritual boasting 91 years of history, will be conducted on May 19 at the Chunhyang Shrine under the supervision of the Municipal Gugak Orchestra to continue the tradition.

The Chunhyang Beauty Pageant, considered the top traditional beauty contest in Korea, will hold its finals on May 19, with strict quarantine measures planned during the preliminary judging and final preparations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Chunhyang Gugak Competition, which elevates traditional culture and national arts, will hold its finals on May 16 at the ‘Ahn Sook-sun Master Singer’s Journey’ after preliminaries in five categories?pansori, dance, folk songs, instrumental and wind music, string music and byeongchang?with 13 events in total.

The Chunhyang Beauty Pageant and Chunhyang Gugak Competition will be broadcast on terrestrial television and streamed online via the Chunhyang Festival YouTube channel ‘Namwon Warak,’ allowing viewers to watch anytime and anywhere in the future.

Yoon Young-bok, Vice Chairman of the Chunhyang Festival Organizing Committee, said, “We prepared a customized online and offline festival this year to get closer to the citizens, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we had no choice but to change the method of holding the event. We will maintain the legacy of the Chunhyang Festival with more substance than ever and faithfully continue the Chunhyang spirit to reach out to the citizens.”

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