Muan-gun 'Residents as Protagonists' Continues Success of Muan Lotus Festival

Published 01 Sep.2021 11:29(KST)

The Subtle Charm of Online Festivals... Content Competitiveness Centered on Residents

Hyeongyeong-myeon, which includes the letter from Elder Jang Ok-im in the Lotus Letter from Muan, received the Gold Prize. / Photo by Asia Economy

[Muan＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Oh Hwan-joo] Muan County, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kim San) is still drawing significant public interest and continuing its success even a week after the conclusion of the 24th Muan Lotus Festival, which ended on the 22nd of last month.

According to the county on the 1st, the Muan Lotus Festival, held from the 18th to the 22nd of last month in a non-face-to-face online format to prevent the spread of COVID-19, featured over 20 programs across three categories broadcast through online platforms such as Muan Lotus TV YouTube and the festival homepage during the festival period.

The Muan Lotus TV YouTube channel continues to see a steady increase in visitors, with views rising from 320,000 on the last day of the festival to 360,000 a week later, an increase of 40,000 views, demonstrating the unique advantages of an online festival.

Unlike non-face-to-face festivals, the online festival content, whether streamed live or pre-produced and uploaded, remains available on YouTube, allowing anyone to watch without time or location restrictions, and enabling regional promotion through sharing with many people online.

In particular, the driving force behind the increase in YouTube views and sustained interest was the online evaluation of the resident-participation content, “Lotus Letters from Muan” and the Lotus Song Festival, which continued after the festival period ended. The evaluation used each video’s “view count” and “likes” as judging criteria, turning residents into both participants and active promoters of the festival.

Participants, along with their families, acquaintances, town and township residents, and hometown friends, engaged in enthusiastic competition, and the county announced the final judging results on the 30th of last month.

In the “Lotus Song Festival,” Kim Sang-ho from Unnam-myeon received the grand prize with overwhelming support in the online judging, Moon Jeong-su from Muan-eup won the gold prize, Jeong Beom-su from Illo-eup took the silver prize, and the Kim Soon-cheol family, who appeared waving the Taegeukgi flag with their seven family members including five children, received the popularity award, leaving a heartwarming impression.

For the “Lotus Letters from Muan,” based on the combined scores by town and township, Samhyang-eup won the grand prize, Hyeongyeong-myeon, home to the elder Jang Ok-im whose video had the highest views, took the gold prize, and Mangun-myeon received the silver prize.

This year’s festival was conducted in a new online format featuring programs such as Tintin Day for youth participation, YouTuber virtual travel popular among young adults, Lotus Cooking Classes and White Lotus Lantern Making which received strong responses from family participants, and various performances that resonated with middle-aged and older audiences, encouraging participation across all age groups and demonstrating the potential of a new festival format in the post-COVID era.

Additionally, the live commerce events held over four sessions provided opportunities to promote the excellence of Muan’s agricultural specialty products such as fresh sweet potatoes, onion jam, and mixed grains sets. The county also opened the “Muan County Brand Pavilion” on the post office shopping mall in line with the festival period and continued discount sales through the Chuseok holiday, making the lotus festival a practical support event for farmers and the local economy through product promotion and events.

Governor Kim San stated, “Although there were many concerns and difficulties in attempting a new form of festival online, the most competitive programs were ultimately those centered on residents rather than celebrity appearances. We will leverage the know-how and capabilities gained from hosting online festivals through various media such as YouTube and SNS to make next year’s Lotus Festival a hybrid on- and offline event that revitalizes the local economy and propels Muan tourism forward.”