‘Oxygen Cafe Cheongsong-gun’, the Highlight of Autumn Festivals ‘Cheongsong Apple Festival’ Held

The 17th Cheongsong Apple Festival, November 1-5

Under the theme 'Cheongsong Apples, a Brilliant Golden Feast'

‘Oxygen Cafe Cheongsong-gun’ has prepared a rich and diverse Cheongsong Apple Festival against the backdrop of Korea’s most beautiful and pristine nature, coinciding with the apple harvest season in Cheongsong.

The 17th Cheongsong Apple Festival, held from November 1 to November 5.

The 17th Cheongsong Apple Festival, under the theme ‘Cheongsong Apples, a Brilliant Golden Feast,’ will open in a grand fashion on November 1st at Yongjeoncheon in Wolmak-ri, Cheongsong-eup (in front of Hyeonbi Rock) and will be held for five days until November 5th.

Cheongsong-gun has further highlighted its status as a premier clean tourism city with titles such as ‘Oxygen Cafe Cheongsong-gun,’ ‘UNESCO Global Geopark,’ ‘International Slow City,’ and ‘Oxygen Cafe Cheongsong Garden.’ The festival is linked with a nighttime lighting project around Yongjeoncheon’s Hyeonbi Rock, creating a festival venue unlike any other experience.

The county aims to transcend the limitations of face-to-face festivals by developing sustainable online programs without spatial or temporal constraints, dreaming of elevating the Cheongsong Apple Festival to a global event.

The online festival, held from October 6th to November 5th via the portal site Daum, diversified the festival format by offering four online games based on the festival’s representative experience programs: Cheongsong Quiz, Balloon Popping, Challenge - Apple Sorting Lotto, and Fun - Apple Nanta. Starting November 1st, the main festival venue prepared a place of harmony and communication where residents and tourists unite, while also readying to widely promote the excellence of Cheongsong Apples, a representative brand of Korea.

The ‘Cheongsong Flower String Weaving Contest’ has been expanded into a national competition to provide various attractions. Notably, the contest’s highest award has been elevated to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, marking a step closer to designating ‘Cheongsong Flower String Weaving’ as a cultural asset.

The apple festival exhibition hall, showcasing Cheongsong apples, apple dishes, and processed apple products, has been set up again this year on a 210-pyeong scale, specializing in Cheongsong’s golden apples. It displays past Apple Kings’ portrait boards and this year’s Golden Jin and Apple King award-winning works. Through the installation of smart multi-tier cultivation facilities, it promotes not only the history and advanced apple cultivation techniques of Cheongsong apples but also the natural environment ideal for apple farming.

Alongside promotion, to stimulate apple consumption, apple dishes developed by the Cheongsong County Local Food Research Association will be exhibited, and 6 to 8 types of dishes and desserts using Cheongsong apples and local specialties, such as apple tteokbokki and apple grilled short ribs, will be available for tasting and sale.

Additionally, a Cheongsong tourism promotional video using a cine-beam projector offers an opportunity to indirectly experience Cheongsong-gun’s representative tourist resources.

This year’s festival features experience programs suitable for all ages, including the festival’s killer contents Challenge - Apple Sorting Lotto, Fun - Apple Nanta, and apple bat experiences. The ‘Cheongsong Apple Parade,’ involving residents and folk music groups from eight towns and townships, and the ‘Cheongsong Residents Singing Contest’ provide opportunities for residents and tourists to unite as one.

The main stage at the event venue will continue with a rich lineup of performances. Linked performances include the recording of ‘Hello Concert Good Day’ featuring Jang Yoon-jeong, Na Tae-joo, and Hong Ji-yoon, and the ‘World Confucian Culture Festival’ with Song Ga-in, Park Ji-hyun, and Park Gu-yoon. The ‘Apple Festival Performance’ featuring Lee Chan-won, Jung Dong-won, and Jo Jung-min, as well as the ‘Cheongsong Residents Singing Contest’ with guest singers Son Tae-jin and Ji-won-i, will also be held.

Moreover, various events such as the 26th Cheongsong Cultural Festival, Senior Hanmadang, Health Gymnastics Contest, and Dokdo Love Sports Performance Group performances are prepared during the festival period.

Small performance programs include three Apple Olympics events, Cheongsong Golden Bell, and talent donation performances organized by Cheongsong residents. Special events such as demonstrations of the arrest and transfer of origin labeling violators by the Uigeumbu (Royal Investigation Office) and the 2023 Cheongsong Golden Apple Cup National High School Ssireum Championship, along with permanent events like apple, apple juice, and apple rice cake tasting and sales, and free tea tasting, offer visitors a variety of sights, tastes, and unique experiences at the Cheongsong Apple Festival.

Cheongsong-gun is actively establishing a distribution structure that allows the shipment of late-season apples and stem-intact apples through agricultural product wholesale markets this fall.

The stem-intact apple, a key policy promoted by the county this year to enhance the competitiveness of the Cheongsong apple industry, reduces labor costs for farmers by not removing the apple stems and effectively improves fruit freshness. This provides a win-win effect where consumers can enjoy fresher apples. All apples sold at this year’s apple festival will be stem-intact apples.

Especially this year, as excessive festival venue price gouging became a major issue nationwide, a task force to eradicate price gouging has been formed. Dedicated officials will be stationed at the festival’s reporting center to operate and ensure a festival venue free from price gouging, creating a festival full of generosity and warmth.

Governor Yoon Kyung-hee stated, “We are thoroughly preparing so that everyone visiting the festival this year can be satisfied and happy. This Cheongsong Apple Festival will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the distinctiveness and excellence of Cheongsong Apples, Korea’s representative brand, through stem-intact apples. Based on close cooperation with related organizations, we will create a safe festival, operate a reporting center to prevent price gouging, and do our best to greatly contribute to revitalizing the local economy.”

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