Gangjin-gun 'Baengnyeonsa Camellia Festival' Attracts Over 20,000 Visitors Despite Cold and Strong Winds

Opening a New Path to Share the Story of Baengnyeonsa and Dasan

Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 7th that the Baengnyeonsa Dongbaek Festival, held for the first time this year around the camellia forest of Baengnyeonsa Temple in Doam-myeon from the 23rd of last month to the 3rd, concluded successfully.

Despite mostly unfavorable weather conditions such as rain and cold during the festival period, about 22,000 visitors enjoyed a tranquil walking path from Baengnyeonsa Temple to Dasan Chodang along with the camellias of Baengnyeonsa over the ten days. The festival site offered modest but enjoyable travel content through various experiential events hosted by Baengnyeonsa, including photo printing services and rubbing experiences.

Tourists visiting the Baengnyeonsa Camellia Festival site are taking photos in front of the camellia flower sculpture.
[Photo by Gangjin-gun]

The camellia forest of Baengnyeonsa is a natural monument designated cultural asset adjacent to Dasan Chodang and Baengnyeonsa Temple, featuring 1,500 camellia trees and a spectacular full bloom of camellia flowers. A photo zone was installed at the event site to allow tourists to commemorate the beauty for a long time, receiving great response.

In particular, the experiential temple stay programs, including the tea ceremony experience titled “How does Dasan’s tea taste?” conducted at Baengnyeonsa, went beyond simple tourism products to offer programs that heal the mind and body and restore calmness, with all reservations fully booked during the event period, gaining popularity.

Baengnyeonsa’s temple stay is expected to be highly popular among urban residents, including the MZ generation, by providing quiet and profound meditation and rest to those weary of busyness and complexity.

According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, the average travel expenditure per person in the Jeollanam-do region is 43,000 KRW, and this festival is estimated to have generated about 950 million KRW in regional economic ripple effects, marking the Gangjin Baengnyeonsa Dongbaek Festival as a successful debut.

Yoon Soon-chil, chairman of the Doam-myeon Development Council, expressed gratitude to the many tourists and local residents who visited the festival site over the ten days, stating, “We will actively improve any issues to further develop the festival and make it a representative festival of Gangjin-gun.”

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