■Inje County prepares for the autumn flower festival

"Inje County in Gangwon Province is busy with the final check-up for the autumn flower festival, which will open in just two days.

This year’s festival, themed “Let’s walk on the flower path in Inje”, will be held for 17 days from the 22nd of this month to the 15th of next month at Yongdae Tourist Site.

This year, the festival will be more diverse in collaboration with the Gangwon World Forest Expo. Above all, about 21,000 chrysanthemums and 300,000 wildflowers will color the festival site with floral fragrance.

From the flower garden made of autumn flowers and floral sculptures, to the waterfront trail where waterfalls, fountains and flower boats harmonize, to the dense pine forest, the festival site exudes the autumn mood.

There are also restaurants and stalls selling various forest products and agricultural products collected from the pristine nature, operated by local residents.

There are also tree climbing, robot dance performances, and augmented reality (AR) experiences for children visitors.

■Kangwon World Forest Expo 2023 to offer various events and performances on the opening weekend

"The Organizing Committee of the Kangwon World Forest Expo 2023 (Chairman Kim Jin-tae) announced that it will provide abundant attractions and entertainment for visitors during the first weekend, starting from September 22, the opening day.

First, the opening ceremony at 9 a.m. at the main gate will be attended by the chairman, the speaker of the Kangwon Special Self-Governing Province Council, the superintendent of education, and four city and county mayors. The ceremony will include a military band performance, a tape cutting, and an entrance event.

The opening ceremony at 2 p.m. at the Pine Cone Observatory stage will be attended by foreign guests from overseas local governments and embassies in Korea, as well as the chairman, the head of the Korea Forest Service, the speaker of the provincial council, members of the National Assembly, the chairman of the Korea Forest Cooperative Federation, and four city and county mayors. The ceremony will include various pre-ceremony performances, a ceremony, and a theme performance.

The main contents of the opening ceremony are as follows: First, before the opening ceremony, there will be a pre-performance of a dance performance by the Toledo Dance Company from Cebu, Philippines, and a performance of ‘Awakening the Forest’ by the Provincial Dance Company. The Korea Forest Service’s Forest Aviation Headquarters’ large-scale forest fire suppression helicopter (2 units) will also demonstrate forest fire suppression.

Next, there will be a joint performance by the Provincial Art Group, ‘Rhythm’ Choir, and Street Dance Team under the theme of ‘Let’s Go to the Forest’, followed by an opening celebration performance by Jang Min-ho, Lee Chan-won, and Hong Jin-young.

Various stage performances, events, and experiential events will also take place throughout the venue on September 23 and 24, the first weekend of the opening.

On September 23 at 3 p.m. at the Pine Cone Observatory stage, there will be an EATOF DAY in Gangwon & Trot Concert with EATOF member countries. The governor of Cebu Province in the Philippines, the governor of Tuv Province in Mongolia, and other EATOF member country officials are expected to attend. There will also be cultural performances by EATOF member countries, such as performances by Cebu and Saipan teams from Northern Mariana Islands. In addition, there will be performances by Seol Ha-yoon and Park Seo-jin who appeared on Miss Trot 2 and Mister Trot 2, as well as K-POP cover dance performances.

In addition, on September 24 at 3 p.m. at the Pine Cone Observatory stage, there will be a Forest Gangwon Ballad Concert featuring Park Jae-jung and Baek A-yeon. On both days of September 23 and 24, there will also be magic performances by Fire Trot and Korean dance performances by Traditional Performing Arts Group.

In addition, from September 22 to 24, there will be a special sale of Gangwon’s representative specialty products at about 20 booths in 11 cities and counties throughout the venue with various events. You can also enjoy experiential programs such as Pine Cone Observatory, Healing Plaza, and Forest Trail.

In addition, an international symposium on ‘Ecosystem Conservation and Science-based Forest Restoration in Border Areas’ co-hosted by Asia Forest Cooperation Organization and Korea Forest Science Society will be held for three days from September 22 at Del Pino Resort in Goseong with more than 100 domestic and foreign experts and scholars in forestry."

■Yangyang Cultural Foundation prepares for the 2023 Songi & Salmon Festival

"The Yangyang Cultural Foundation is gearing up for the 2023 Songi & Salmon Festival.

According to the foundation on the 19th, the integrated festival will be held from October 4th to 8th, centered on the Namdaecheon embankment, multipurpose plaza, and traditional market. The festival will feature various programs with local, space, and market as keywords, and will be significantly expanded in scale and space compared to previous festivals.

First of all, the number of participating booths increased to more than 220, which is more than double, and the festival hours will also extend to 9 p.m. with night programs.

A foundation official said, “As this is the first festival where songi and salmon join hands, we will lead it to a wonderful festival without any flaws in operation and safety aspects.” 

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