Goryeong County Invites You to the Daegaya Festival: "The Land of the Great King"

Goryeong County (Governor Namcheol Lee) will host the 2025 Goryeong Daegaya Festival under the theme "Land of the Great King," organized by the Goryeong County Tourism Association. The festival will take place from the 28th to the 30th at the Daegaya Tumuli, Daegaya Museum, Daegaya Historical Theme Park, and throughout the Daegaya-eup area.

The Goryeong Daegaya Festival has been selected as the "2024-2025 Best Cultural Tourism Festival" and for the "2025 Asia Regional Traditional Arts Festival, Intangible Heritage Category." This year's festival will once again showcase the vibrant and prosperous history and culture of Daegaya from 1,500 years ago.

Goryeong Daegaya Festival Poster.

In July 2024, a pottery piece inscribed with "Daewang" (Great King) was discovered at the Daegaya Palace Site in Yeonjo-ri, Daegaya-eup, Goryeong County. Although the inscription is slightly damaged, "Daewang" is clearly identifiable. Inspired by this, the 21st Daegaya Festival was planned under the theme "Land of the Great King" to mark a significant historical milestone and to highlight the importance of the pottery inscribed with "Daewang" found at the palace site.

If the inscription is indeed read as "Daewang," it could settle debates about the true nature of the Daegaya Palace Site and significantly bolster the theory of Daegaya as an ancient state, potentially redefining the Three Kingdoms era as the Four Kingdoms era.

The 2025 Goryeong Daegaya Festival, themed "Land of the Great King," is designed to deepen understanding and appreciation of Daegaya. A wide range of content and programs have been prepared so that people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy and participate in the festivities.

The festival, held over three days from the 28th to the 31st, will focus on the identity of the Daegaya Festival through hands-on experiences. To highlight Daegaya's unique culture and civilization, the festival will feature history and culture programs, including storytelling sessions with Professor Hongjoon Yoo and historian Taeseong Choi.

To capture the freshness of spring in Goryeong, visitors can enjoy new experiential content such as making strawberry fondue, strawberry tarts, and strawberry candles using the county's signature local produce.

For families, there will be special programs such as the "Pink World" photo zone with pink sand for children, the "Daegaya Excavation Expedition" where kids can experience pottery excavation, maze escape games, and the "Carrie and Toy Friends Sing-Along Show." In addition, Goryeong's signature traditional instrument, the Gayageum, will be featured in a performance with 100 Gayageum players, offering a musical connection to Daegaya's heritage.

The festival will also feature enhanced nighttime programs with newly designed landscape lighting and performances, ensuring visitors can enjoy the festivities until 10 PM without boredom.

During the festival, visitors can walk the night trekking course and experience the grandeur and tranquility of the Jisan-dong Tumuli illuminated by subtle landscape lighting, enjoying the romantic spring nights of Goryeong. Colorful nighttime photo zones will also provide opportunities for memorable snapshots along the way.

The themed exhibition hall, embodying the core message of the festival, will showcase everything about Goryeong, the Land of the Great King. It will feature artifacts such as the Daewang pottery, gilt-bronze crowns, Gayageum, and the Jisan-dong Tumuli, presenting both the past and present of Daegaya and the 20-year history of the Daegaya Festival.

Unlike previous years, when the themed exhibition was only available during the festival, this year it will be set up in the indoor space on the first floor of the Daegaya Historical Theme Park. It will be open year-round, allowing anyone visiting Goryeong to learn about the Daegaya Festival and its history at any time.

Namcheol Lee, Governor of Goryeong County, stated, "The curtain has risen on Goryeong's representative festival, the Daegaya Festival. The 2025 Goryeong Daegaya Festival will break away from the traditional framework and begin anew, in line with changes such as the Jisan-dong Tumuli's inscription as a World Heritage Site, Daegaya's designation as an ancient capital, and its selection as a national cultural tourism festival. I invite everyone to come and enjoy the new Daegaya Festival at the Land of the Great King, Goryeong Daegaya Festival."

Daegaya Road Parade.

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