Seochang Mandri Pungnyeonje, Grand Prize Winner in Poetry Preliminary at Korean Folk Arts Festival

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] The Seochang Mandri Preservation Society (President Jeong Byeong-cheol) announced on the 28th that it won the grand prize by participating in the 23rd City Preliminary Contest of the Korean Folk Arts Festival organized by the Gwangju Metropolitan City Cultural Center Association with the ‘Seochang Mandri Pungnyeonje’.

The ‘Seochang Mandri Pungnyeonje’ is an event held around Baekjung (the 15th day of the 7th lunar month) next month, reenacting the final weeding to pray for a bountiful harvest of the year. It began to comfort the farmers who worked hard from spring on behalf of the landowners and to promote harmony among village residents, and this year marks its 23rd anniversary.

Representing Gwangju Metropolitan City, it will participate in the 63rd Korean Folk Arts Festival held in October next year, competing with folk art groups from cities and provinces nationwide.

This preliminary contest was conducted by individually filming participating teams at an outdoor performance venue due to COVID-19, judging the videos, and then awarding prizes.

The ‘Mandri Pungnyeonje,’ which was canceled last year due to COVID-19, is scheduled to be held on the 29th of next month at the Seochang Hanok Culture Center area and will be broadcast live on YouTube both online and offline.

A representative of the Seochang Mandri Preservation Society said, “Although there were difficulties in practice due to COVID-19, we were able to win the grand prize thanks to the generous support of everyone, including Seo Dae-seok, the head of Seo-gu District Office,” and added, “We will do our best so that the ‘Seochang Mandri Pungnyeonje’ can continue to grow as a representative festival of the local community.”

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