The 22nd Hoengseong Hanwoo Festival in Hoengseong County, Gangwon State, closed after drawing its largest crowds and highest sales on record. Regional festivals, once seen as the preserve of older generations, are emerging as a travel trend, drawing younger visitors seeking a trendy local experience and foreign tourists looking for a cultural setting to sample Korean food.
Hoengseong County and the Hoengseong Culture and Tourism Foundation said on the 12th that 400,163 people visited the festival grounds on the Seomgang riverside from the 7th to the 11th, generating 4.4 billion won ($3.1 million) in sales. That marks increases of 23% and 22%, respectively, from the 326,000 visitors and 3.6 billion won in sales a year earlier. Turnout peaked over the Hangul Day holiday, with 100,000 people arriving on the 9th alone and traffic backing up on the approach to the Hoengseong interchange.
Hoengseong hanwoo, the local premium beef, drove the sales. All 300 head of cattle prepared by three livestock organizations sold out. Long lines formed at both lunch and dinner at the grill area, which offered beef at the same prices as the county's own retail outlets.
The festival's first "stay longer" strategy took shape through nighttime programming and family activities. The Seomgang Starlight Lantern Festa along the riverside, the nightly Elegant Music Festa and two runs of the Universe Fireworks Show kept visitors on the grounds into the evening. A Retro Carnival and a Nostalgia Playground Kids Park drew families.
Demand also rose at tourist sites beyond the festival grounds. About 7,000 people visited the Hoengseong Lake Trail during the festival, up 37% from 4,694 over the preceding five days. The Hoengseong Luge course, which ran a discount promotion, drew about 4,000 users, a 32% increase. The Hoengseong Hanwoo Experience Center, connected by shuttle bus, recorded 2.3 times its usual daily average of visitors.
The foundation attributes the wider spending beyond the venue to programs linking the festival with nearby attractions. It plans to weigh the figures against the fact that the comparison period, the preceding five days, included the National Foundation Day holiday and the Anheung Steamed Bun Festival. The foundation also plans to use visitor satisfaction surveys and an internal review to shape improvements for the next edition.
"We are grateful to our visitors, to the county residents who put this festival together with us and to our livestock farmers," Chief Executive Kim Dae-jung said. "We will build on the potential we saw this year for a festival that keeps people here, and make the Hoengseong Hanwoo Festival one that people want to return to next year."