▲ Sokcho Unites with Seorak, Holds the 59th Seorak Cultural Festival

Sokcho City announced that the 59th Seorak Cultural Festival will be held for three days from October 4th to 6th at the Expo Lawn Square under the slogan of "Snowak Unites with Seorak."

"The Seorak Cultural Festival, which began in 1966, has been held around mountain festivals and sports events, and has developed into a comprehensive cultural and artistic festival where local residents participate with great interest and love from Sokcho citizens and tourists," the official said. "The pre-event "Seorak Mountain Climbing Competition-Dalma! Ridge Road Walking" was successfully held on September 29 with more than 500 visitors, and we plan to light the torch after holding the Seorak ritual at Gwongeumseong Bonghwadae in Seoraksan Mountain on October 2nd."

Hosted by Sokcho City and organized by the Sokcho Culture and Tourism Foundation, the opening ceremony will be held at 19:00 on October 4 to mark the start of the event in earnest on a special stage at the grass square of the Expo. The opening ceremony will be held integrally with the "2024 Sokcho Citizens' Day Celebration" and △The 59th Seorak Culture Festival will be announced △The opening video will be screened for Sokcho Citizens' Day in 2024 △The Sokcho Citizens' Awards △ Memorial speech and congratulatory speech △ Laser media art performance will be presented in order to provide a variety of attractions. In particular, singer Kim Tae-woo, a public relations ambassador of Sokcho City, and So Chan-hwi, the owner of explosive singing, will hold a performance to celebrate the opening ceremony to add to the excitement of the event.

On the second day of the festival, the street parade, a program representing the Seorak Cultural Festival, will be held at 13:30 and 17:00 on October 5 at Sokcho Expo Lawn Square under the name of Marching Show with Chani Raeyo!. The parade, which will be accompanied by various performances, will feature characters from Sokcho city characters Chani and Raeyo, as well as Gangwon State, six cities and counties (Donghae City, Taebaek City, Samcheok City, Hongcheon County, Cheorwon County, and Pyeongchang County), and Sokcho Tourism and Fisheries Market.

From 14:30 p.m., the Sokcho Cheerful Sports Festival," in which residents of eight Sokcho-dong participate, provides a time for residents to enjoy and unite together." From 19:30 p.m., the film concert "Standard of Love" with orchestras and famous vocalists will be held, which is expected to raise the cultural level of the Seorak Cultural Festival and meet the diverse cultural demands of citizens.

At 13:00 on the 3rd, the last day of the festival, "Sokcho Trot Number One!" will be held, featuring hidden trot masters from Sokcho and other countries. Fourteen teams that passed the preliminary round will compete on the main stage of the expo grass square, and the winners will be awarded plaques and small prizes.

The "Malaysia Sarawak School of Arts" team sponsored by the Malaysian Sarawak Tourism Creation Industry and Performing Arts Ministry, a member of the East Asian Regional Government Tourism Federation (EATOF), will perform with Sokcho Children's Choir. The performance will be held once each at 11 p.m. and 15:30 p.m.

The closing ceremony, which will mark the end of the festival, will take place at 19:00 on Oct. 6. Famous singers, including Shin Seung-tae, an honorary ambassador for Sokcho City, Ahn Sung-hoon and Kwak Ji-eun, will have a splendid finale.

During the festival, more than 50 experience booths will be set up at the Expo grass square to provide a variety of activities and experience events based on Sokcho's theme. On October 4th and 6th, air bounces, which are very popular among children, will be operated, and various experience events such as the Hangung Competition and the street basketball competition will be held to decorate Sokcho's fall.

Lee Byung-sun, mayor of Sokcho and chairman of the Sokcho Culture and Tourism Foundation, said, "We have prepared our best to move beyond Sokcho to become a comprehensive cultural and artistic festival representing autumn in Gangwon-do, so I hope many citizens and tourists will visit Sokcho in autumn and have a good experience."

Meanwhile, the 2024 Sokcho food festival, 'Marsh! Sokcho,' will be held at the Symbol Tower Plaza near the venue. Sokcho's signature foods such as squid sundae, makguksu, chicken gangjeong, soft tofu, and jangkalguksu will capture the taste of visitors who visit the venue. The event is expected to imprint the image of Sokcho City, which leads the carbon neutrality by using eco-friendly festival supplies and reducing the use of plastic as one of its carbon neutrality practices. At Cheongcho Lake amusement park, the 2024 Sokcho Chrysanthemum Exhibition, which combines 100,000 chrysanthemums with landscape lighting, is expected to show off Sokcho's charm in the fall.