Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival, Consul Barkhouse from U.S. Consulate in Busan Visits

Opening Ceremony of Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival Followed by Visits to Jinju Fortress and National Jinju Museum

Nolan Barkhouse, U.S. Consulate Officer, is shaking hands with Cho Gyu-il, Mayor of Jinju, Gyeongnam.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Nolan Barkhouse, Consul at the U.S. Consulate in Busan, attended the opening ceremony of the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival upon invitation from Jinju City, Gyeongnam.

Following his attendance at the festival opening ceremony, Consul Barkhouse visited Jinju City for a 2-day, 1-night schedule, touring Jinju Fortress and the National Jinju Museum.

On the 10th, Barkhouse walked from the Gyeongnam Culture and Arts Center to the event stage where the lighting ceremony was held and participated in the opening ceremony.

He then strolled along the riverside adorned with 70,000 floating lanterns, toured the festival site, and enjoyed the lantern festival by boarding the Kim Si-min ship at Mulbit Naruteo.

On the 11th, the consul visited City Hall and held a meeting with Mayor Jo Gyu-il. At this meeting, he expressed his gratitude for the invitation, saying, “The drone show and fireworks festival at the opening ceremony beautifully complemented the 70,000 lanterns decorating the Namgang River, which naturally drew admiration.”

He added, “Despite it being the last day of the holiday, I was surprised to see many citizens and tourists gathered at the event site for the lantern festival. Especially, seeing the citizens happy amid the large crowd seems to align well with the city administration’s slogan, ‘Prosperous Jinju, Happy Citizens.’”

Consul Barkhouse, visiting Jinju for the first time, stated his intention to actively participate in ongoing Korea-U.S. cultural exchanges.

Mayor Jo said, “Thank you for visiting the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival opening ceremony,” and requested, “We ask for the close cooperation of the U.S. consul to help the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival grow into a global festival.”

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