Gokseong World Rose Festival Attracts 280,000 Visitors

Admission Revenue Alone Reaches 1.2 Billion KRW, Proving to Be the Best Among Nationwide Rose Festivals

[Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-sun] Jeonnam Gokseong-gun announced on the 8th that 281,545 people visited the Gokseong World Rose Festival.

On May 21, the opening day of the festival, all roads leading into Gokseong-gun were crowded with people from early morning.

Traffic on Honam Expressway and National Route 17 noticeably increased as they approached Gokseong-gun.

After passing through Gokseong IC, vehicles crawled like turtles from 10 km ahead of the festival site.

Even the Yeosu-bound KTX, which usually stops briefly in Gokseong, had to halt at Gokseong Station for a long time to accommodate the influx of rose festival visitors that day.

According to Gokseong-gun, 35,042 people visited the Gokseong World Rose Festival site on the opening day alone.

The following day, May 22, even more visitors, 38,309, came to the festival site.

Although the number of visitors gradually decreased afterward, 20,000 to 30,000 people consistently visited the rose festival site on holidays and weekends, and visitors continued to come even on weekdays.

As of the end of May this year, Gokseong-gun's population is less than 28,000, and O-gok-myeon, where the festival site is located, has only 1,830 residents.

It is truly a quiet and peaceful town that has become a hip neighborhood thanks to the rose festival.

Even outside of Gokseong-gun, rose-related festivals are held nationwide in May.

Nevertheless, many people still flock to the Gokseong World Rose Festival because of its overwhelmingly large rose garden and unique programs.

Gokseong-gun's rose garden boasts an area of 75,000㎡.

It was already one of the best in the country when it was 40,000㎡, but by expanding it about twice this time, it has once again secured an absolute advantage.

As large as the rose garden is, the variety of rose species is also diverse.

During the festival period, visitors can see tens of millions of roses of over 1,000 varieties.

Also, in the newly expanded section, gardens representing various countries such as France, Greece, China, and Persia were created to produce an exotic atmosphere.

The festival period was extended to 17 days to disperse visitors, naturally improving traffic congestion issues.

This year's festival was held under the theme of "Rose Ball."

It symbolized inviting people, who had been withdrawn due to COVID-19, to the waltz of spring.

Since the festival concept was a ball, performances mainly featured dance-related acts such as waltz, rumba, tango, and salsa.

Especially, waltz parades were held not only on stage but also in the rose garden, fountain area, and streets, allowing the audience to participate in the performances.

Visitors cheered for the performances, which are usually hard to experience.

A visitor, Mr. A, who came with his family, said, "It was my first time seeing a scene of dancing the waltz to an orchestra in person.

It seemed like a graceful expression of the shining and beautiful moments experienced in life.

The liveliness of the scene was truly amazing, unlike watching it on TV or in movies."

Thanks to the splendid roses and high-quality performances, this year's Gokseong World Rose Festival recorded 1.21766 billion KRW in admission revenue over 17 days.

This reaffirmed its reputation as the number one profitable festival in Korea based on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 2018 settlement.

Additionally, the steam locomotive and rail bike operated on consignment by Korail Tourism Development generated sales of 210 million KRW.

Gokseong-gun's directly managed souvenir shops, unmanned cafes, and small train facilities earned 62 million KRW, with rose potted plants being especially popular, accounting for 68% of total sales.

At the local agricultural products special sales market set up at one corner of the festival site, agricultural products and processed goods worth 260 million KRW sold briskly.

Besides, private experience facilities, restaurants, and accommodations inside and outside the train village were packed with people.

The ripple effect of the festival was seen not only near the festival site but also in Gokseong-eup, Ok-gwa-myeon, and Seokgok-myeon areas.

Mr. B, who runs a restaurant near the train village, said, "We couldn't accommodate all customers due to lack of seats. Although it is a temporary event, festivals promoted by the county, including the rose festival and the October children's festival, really help the annual sales."

A Gokseong-gun official said, "Although the festival is over, we are already looking forward to next year and will prepare a more splendid and unique festival."

Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-sun cha6960@asiae.co.kr

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