GANGNEUNG CITY ENG - 솔향강릉

To establish a distinct underwater recreational zone, Gangneung Undersea Park deployed abandoned weaponry such as abandoned warships and light armored vehicles in Gangneung-si in the sea around 3 kilometers away from Sageunjin Beach and this park was built to give divers enjoyment as well as a home for sea critters. Moreover, the park is sharing the wonderful environment with the rest of the globe by posting a film of the undersea park throughout the four seasons.

When you get to the entrance, you’ll find a white sign pointing to Gangneung Undersea Park’s observatory. The first object that meets travelers when they access the beach by following the signboard is a public phone booth with a sea-colored dome and scuba photos. A bit farther down the road, you’ll come across the two-story underwater observatory.

You can view the turquoise East Sea at a glance if you go up to the underwater observatory. Gyeongpo Beach, adjacent cafés, and bright tetrapods line your back, making it a favorite photo location for visitors to the Undersea Park Observatory. A QR code for the Gangneung Undersea Park AR experience and a guide for skin scuba are also posted at the entry to help guests experience them.

The dreamlike panorama where the horizon and beach buildings are covered by heavy sea fog is also a remarkable sight that can only be viewed on a hot summer day like today. It is also ideal to visit the refreshing Sageunjin Undersea Park on hot summer days.

Since its inception in 2019, the ‘Gangneung Beach Beer Festival’ has been permanently stopped owing to the unprecedented COVID-19 circumstance. Finally, in 2022, we staged the second ‘Gangneung Beach Beer Festival’ with the theme ‘Rise up in Gangneung’ to bring recovery and good energy to all people who were weary by the lengthy COVID-19.

Famous craft beer brewers from not only Gangneung but also as far away as Ulsan and Dongducheon participated in the ‘Gangneung Beach Beer Festival’ hosted in the center plaza of Gyeongpo Beach for three days from July 8 to July 10. Many of the travelers that took part got the opportunity to sample artisan beers from diverse places that are not commonly available in one location.

Band performances and DJ & hip-hop performances that go well with a cool beer in the lovely summer sea of Gyeongpo were one-of-a-kind events that could only be found in Gangneung. Seeing family, friends, and couples enjoying themselves, which we haven’t seen in a long time, placed a smile on my face. The ‘Gangneung Beach Beer Festival’ is destined to become one of Korea’s most recognizable summer beach festivities. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event.

“What would you like to drink?” It is our daily habit to shout out the name of a large company’s product as if there is a fixed answer. There was a time when consumers were tamed with the phrase “You don’t even understand what beer tastes like,” and there was a time when the celebrity in the advertisement was the sole reason for the selection of beer. Beer, which was produced starting from 1933 in Daejapan Brewery has led to the growth of two to three brands. The domestic beer market was uniform, with bottled beer or draft beer written on the menu. It may be because the stereotyped consumer’s answer has not given the consumer an opportunity to understand the taste of beer.

However, now there is an opportunity to test one’s taste with pride. Gangneung, the city of “the original place,” where you can drink local brand coffee in the morning and craft beer from local brewery in the evening. It is no exaggeration to say that Gangneung’s craft beer market was divided into before and after “Willow Brewery.” Isn’t it fascinating that there is a local beer brewery in your neighborhood? Let’s go to Hongje-dong, the birthplace of Gangneung beer.

“We used to grow hops in Gangneung. However, the relatively cheap hops began to be imported, and the growth was stunted. We also cultivated hops as an experiment, and it was so expensive that the barriers were high to proceed even with simple experiments. In order to supply craft beer at a cheap price, mass production was eventually required, which means that facilities should increase naturally. There will be only about 50 places in the country that can produce and distribute due to problems with funds, space, and facilities. There are many places where brewery and pubs move together, but most of them cannot escape in-store consumption. That’s how small the market is. In addition, I think there are many companies that have not been able to withstand the recent COVID-19 crisis.

Now that the taste has been upgraded as a whole, I think the brand, the design and the identity of Gangneung beer are important for survival. We can show you “the way beer is” very well. I’m trying to upgrade the beer while making the most of its personality while compromising marketability and technology. Having a brand philosophy and holding onto continuity at the same time is more difficult than I thought. There is a difference between making good beer and selling good beer even though they sound similar. Keeping the balance between the two is also the current concern of Willow Brewery. The thing that’s most important is being loved by the people in the region.” (CEO Lee Chang-ho of Willow Brewery)

• MINORI Session
  • The taste is clean, light, and fresh. The traditional liquor making method is applied and the liquor is made with hard-boiled rice. It was named “Minori” because more than 40% of the rice used is harvested in Minori, Sacheon-myeon, Gangneung-si.
• Zume Blanc
  • Wheat beer reinterpreted in Korea with chrysanthemum and oriental pepper. It is soft because of the scent combination of chrysanthemum, banana, and spicyness. “Zume” is the actual name of Gangneung, which means “a village that dips.”
• Hasla IPA
  • IPA beer rich in the aroma of tropical fruits and fine scent. It is balanced with a bitter taste and is provided an enjoyable drinking experience. IPA is a British beer with a slightly dark, bitter scent.

The drinking culture has changed recently. Strange cultures such as turning glasses or making new drinking alcohol have disappeared, and the days of “Pour, drink, and alcohol is the enemy” have passed. Now alcohol is turning into a kind of side dish and a culture that stimulates the taste of food. Shouldn’t beer be one of the mature tastes in the future?

Beer is a drink that is fermented and aged by adding hops and yeast to sprouted barley. There is a bit of a catch in this word. Beer takes about a month to make and drink, which means that even if the alcohol that will be made a month later is born ruined, there is no way to reverse it. Even if beer is stable, it is also a fermented food. The taste also changes little by little depending on the raw material and how mature it is. If you go expecting the exact same taste as the homemade beer you had last time, you might be disappointed. Therefore, getting a satisfying homemade beer right away is perhaps a matter of luck. The beer, which was brewed under the maker’s unique recipe and deep affection, has its own biological rhythm in each glass. After writing this, craft beer feels like a swaggy fashionista. Let’s taste the sincerity of Gangneung beer at Gangneung Brewery, which uses Gangneung agricultural products to create its own taste with a fierce experimental spirit.

“It’s been 23 years since I started drinking, and it’s been a little over 10 years since I started drinking beer. It takes at least a month for alcohol to be made and served, and it is safe to say that you can only try it about 12 times a year. I’m still in the process of learning, and I’m gaining experience through new attempts. This is possible because it’s a run alone. If an employee continues to ruin the alcohol through experiments, he or she has to take responsibility, but if it’s serious, he or she can pack up and leave. Therefore, most breweries in Korea use imported yeast that results in stable fermentation. Otherwise, it’s hard to cover the disposal cost.

Nevertheless, my theory is that when I make alcohol, I have to make it using local bacteria. Recently, we made Pilsner (normal beer) and Sejong-style liquor by obtaining yeast from dried persimmons in Gangneung, Gangneung pears, and Gangneung pine needles. I’m going to continue to make beer only with my own yeast. I want to show you the real Gangneung beer that you can only drink in Gangneung. It would be great if local breweries, with pride and identity, can gather one by one to create a craft beer alley with their own yeast. Content development is also something that is consumed and sustainable only when the market expands to a certain extent.” (CEO of Gangneung Brewery, Kim Sang-hyun)

• Red Bean Belgian Weisen
  • Instead of the coriander seeds originally used in the Belgian beer, we added our oriental pepper seeds. There’s a love story of the legend of Hongjang of Gyeongpo Lake in Gangneung behind it. It’s good and enjoyable for women.
• The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon
  • After fermenting Gangneung persimmons, yeast is extracted and made. It has a soft and unique flavor. It is a beer that contains the philosophy of CEO Kim Sang-hyun, who has studied traditional liquor for a long time.
• The Scent of Pear Blossoms
  • Beer made by extracting yeast from pears. The most basic beer style with the scent of pear added, so anyone can enjoy it lightly. The alcohol content is rather high.

During the early 2010s, swimming, camping, sushi bars, and cafes were the keywords to describe the summer sea of Gangneung. Walking in the sunset was just an additional keyword. However, it has changed. Now visitors enjoy surfing, scuba diving, cruising the waves on yachts, meditating in a pine forest, and healing the mind and body with yoga. Even more exciting venues are being prepared to offer action-packed luge, paragliding, monorail rides, and zip-lines. The summer sea of Gangneung is now rocking to a more vigorous and diverse beat.

A ‘Wellness Tour’ is a welcome addition to every travel itinerary because we are all living in the COVID-19 era. The term Wellness comes from a mashup of well-being, happiness, and fitness, which is a new tour trend that blends mental and social stability with physical health to create a new travel regimen that leaves us feeling refreshed and ready to take on life’s challenges after the trip.

Gangneung City’s Wellness Tour is the culmination of several years of planning and the creation of a Wellness Belt that encompasses agricultural, mountain, and fishery villages. There are lots of fun and revitalizing activities that you can pick to enjoy.

A “marine healing program” that combines ocean and healing is also currently undergoing preparation. It’s a healing program aimed for people who are tired of busy daily life in the cities and substituting it with beach yoga, pine field meditation, Nordic walking and Pilates. The city is planning to develop it as a stay-type tourism product in connection with tourist attractions including nearby fishing villages. It is great project that has multiple benefits like improving the settlement conditions for local young people in fishing villages and serving as a new income base. When the COVID-19 situation becomes stable, this place will take a full-fledged step towards becoming an ocean leisure sports city. One of the preparation works done was the installation of a color tetrapod around Sagunjin Ocean Observatory in June.

Jeongdongjin Railbike is a bike-riding on a rail that starts from Jeongdongjin Station, runs through Jeongdongjin Beach to Moraesigye(Hourglass) Park, and returns to the station a journey of 5.1 kilometers. It is mainly featured by the unique hand and feet operated system. In the 1990s, the widely popular Korean drama <Moraesigye> was shot here, so those who remember the story can recall their feelings. With a vast ocean, clean air, and scenic mountains, Jeongdongjin is where families, friends, and lovers can create delightful memories.

Jeongdongjin Railbike can be operated electrically, so people of all ages can ride it. If you want to enjoy the bike more speedily, you can press the pedal to accelerate it.

Pass through Songjeong Village, wait for the traffic light, and cross the road. You will see a dense pine forest in front of your eyes. If you walk a little bit more along the pine tree path, you will see Songjeong Beach that spreads brilliantly at the end of the road that gives you a beautiful view of the ocean. Starting from Songjeong Beach to Namhangjin to the south and Gyeongpo Beach to the north, a watercolor-like coastal walkway with the sea nearby as if you could reach it with your fingertips, arms stretched out.

Particularly, the “Danbong Village” trail, which starts from the pine field of Songjeong, is a beautiful forest path where everyone can recall an old, personal memory while walking, with dense sea pine trees in the background along with the blue sea. Ddangbong is a lone peak that you can visit on the way to Gangmun, and it originated from the phenomenon of thick pine forests. Ddanbong Village Trail is a representative pine forest trail in Solhyang, Gangneung.

Phytoncide is overflowing from the forest and is loved by people taking walks. People are constantly visiting not only on holidays but also on weekdays. It is a clean area where the scent of pine treets and ocean breeze are combined. You can enjoy natural forest bathing in summer, as well as food in old restaurants nearby, making it the best LOHAS space where you can have great, wholesome experiences in every season.

Phytoncide, which emits from sea pine, is a directional substance that the pine emits itself to resist pathogens, pests, and fungi that can also harm humans, and drinking phytoncide is said to relieve stress and strengthen intestinal and cardiopulmonary functions, as well as to cure emotional depression and anxiety. There’s more. Walking along the trail in the pine forest, gives people the pleasure of seeing wild flowers blooming humbly in barren sand. Significantly, as part of the “Creating a Good Village” project, you can see various native plants restored by the residents with sweat and effort, which are said to be playing a major role in preventing frequent coastal erosion as well as being a beautiful beach scenery. If you walk with children, you can observe wildflowers naturally, so your happy time doubles.

In addition, if you get overwhelmed by the scent of pine trees, you may encounter military units, and a nice mural is painted on the wall of the military unit, which can be quite desolate, so you might stop walking automatically to take a good look at it. The mural, co-produced by Gangneung Volunteer Center and Dongcheon Regiment of the 23rd Division, depicts Gangneung’s ten scenic views selected by soldiers and volunteers, so it’s good to stop for a while and enjoy Gangneung’s scenic beauty shown on a mural.

Also, you can see various installations such as an outdoor sculpture park built on the beach at a nearby hotel, a reading bench created by the city, and a sky staircase. You can sit on a bench and relax, appreciate the works, and be immersed in reading for a while enjoying the cool breeze from the ocean. Walking alone, chatting lightly with your family, walking hand in hand with the person you love, hearing endless stories about the ocean, and watching the sun set through the pine forest and the shadow of a tree falling in the wind will make you feel as if you are in a distant foreign country. Songjeong Pine Forest is a place that anyone can only love.

Meanwhile, Songjeong Beach has an outdoor stage. On the weekends, people come out from various clubs and show off their cool singing skills, and sometimes play the guitar with a wave-like melody running in the sea. Others embroider the summer night sky with beautiful saxophone performances. On a hot summer night, drinking a cool glass of beer and listening to the sound of the wave will make the heat will go away.

These days, when COVID-19 is giving people a more difficult time than ever, why don’t you get out of your stuffy house and walk along Songjeong Pine Field, which is filled with the scent of refreshing pine trees? The green forest and the sea will warmly embrace and comfort your tiring life.

Please begin by introducing yourself.

Hi. I am Hee-jun Jeong, the director of the Arte Museum Valley Gangneung.

Please present the Arte Museum Valley Gangneung to us.

Valley Arte Museum Gangneung is a new exhibition space that opened on December 23, 2021. There are now three sites in Korea: Jeju, Yeosu, and Gangneung. More than 2,900 individuals come daily, according to the cumulative daily average.

Arte Museum’s common theme is ‘Eternal Nature.’ Although the topic is nature, it is not a mere representation of nature. It is an immersive media art installation of nature inspired by D’strict’s interpretations. Each space is distinguished by a mix of sight, sound, and scent, allowing you to experience a more immersive display. Moreover, focusing on the fragrances that are set uniquely for each location will make the display more pleasurable.

Arte Museum Valley Gangneung houses a total of 12 pieces of media art. Have you prepared a message for each pavilion? Are there any particular exhibitions that the director recommends?

As previously stated, the Arte Museum is organized into sub-themes per area within the overarching subject of ‘Eternal Nature.’ Jeju is the ‘ISLAND,’ Yeosu the ‘OCEAN,’ and Gangneung is the ‘VALLEY.’ The artwork is meant to be made up of the mountains, valleys, and sea that constitute Gangneung’s beautiful surroundings.

There are now 12 spaces on exhibit, including ‘Waterfall,’ ‘Flower,’ and ‘Thunder,’ as well as one special exhibition. The special exhibition is the first offline exhibition of our D’strict’s NFT initiative, and it features pieces from the ‘SPIRIT FOREST INCANTO’ series (4/30~7/20, Arte Museum Valley Gangneung). It will thereafter be utilized as a testing ground for new works.

Many people are interested in the exhibitions I propose. When this happens, I always recommend the ‘Garden.’ The film is around 30 minutes long, with the first half consisting of works by world-renowned artists and classical music, and the second half consisting of works with gorgeous Gangwon landscape in the background. An Arirang tune is performed in the backdrop by Korean traditional musician So-hee Song, and it is quite moving. I wish everyone feels this way.

Aside from the exhibition, the ‘Tea bar’ area stood out from the ticket office. Is there a café within the exhibition hall?

The ‘Tea bar’ is not the same as a café. Similarly, it is an interactive display. Guests are given their own beverages. Images of flowers and the moon rising from the ceiling are projected using a beam projector. Using the sensor, the picture travels together with the moving cup. It is a place where you may have the splendid sensation of sipping flowers in full bloom.

Since its inception, the museum has had a large number of visitors. Rumor has it that, it is considered one of Gangneung’s new trendy tourist spots. You must be taken aback.

My hometown is actually Gangneung. So I’ve been keeping a close eye on this region for quite some time. There are numerous outdoor activity places in Gangneung, as you know, but the absence of indoor experience space was disappointing. Hence, I am quite glad that local inhabitants have the opportunity to enjoy a high-quality cultural life through such a huge exhibition hall, and that it is receiving a lot of attention.

What type of appeal do you believe the Arte Museum has that attracts so many visitors?

First and foremost, our Arte Museum has a parent company named ‘D’strict.’ Our internal personnel is used for content, strategy, and manpower replacement. It is an acronym of Design Street, as the name implies, and it is a company with an operational philosophy and attitude that emphasizes uncompromising design and superior quality. With more and more latecomers in media art, I believe the ‘power of content’ is drawing attention to Arte Museum. The objects on exhibit at the Arte Museum include extremely fine detailing. I believe that visitors find it appealing to feel the emotion of nature’s reinterpretation without feeling alienated from the current surrounding scenery.

The most well-known kind of media art is a basic experience display. I’m curious to know about your definition of media art.

I believe that media art delivers something that you can’t experience in the real world to an exhibition space, allowing you to feel as if you have, producing a sense of fulfillment and, more importantly, inspiration. It all boils down to our display in the end. Feeling surreal in the reinterpretation of nature and I think it can also be characterized as the ability to substitute real experiences with virtual experiences.

Until recently, Korea did not receive enough attention to make it safe to declare that it was a “barren land of media art.” With the growth of social media and greater public awareness of culture and art, I feel that new disciplines of art are being found and brought to light. In your opinion, what is the present state of ‘Korean media art’?

In fact, it appears that Korean media art is just becoming closer to the public, in a stage of taking its first step forward. The Arte Museum and D’strict are at the heart of everything, and we take pride in being the industry pioneer. We are no longer confined to Korea, but we are continuing to plan for international expansion. When it comes to media art exhibits, we are working hard to ensure that Arte Museum is the first to come to mind. Media art appears to be gaining traction and reaching a wider audience in the future. As a result, there will be several new attempts in the near future. In truth, there is some debate over whether “media art” is art or not, but it is certain that in the near future, such exhibitions will be commonplace. I believe the media art exhibition hall will play a significant part in this.

In this sector, the United States and Europe are already regarded as powerhouses. Now, from a competing standpoint, what do you believe is the way for Korean media art to go, or what are the gaps or elements that need to be supplemented?

First, I believe that the most important thing is to take the time to become acquainted with the public, both as a cultural and recreational place. As I noted previously, the situation in Korea is still in its infancy in comparison to other countries, therefore many people are unfamiliar with this genre. And it’s not a shortcoming, but if there’s one thing I’m concerned about, it’s that our Arte Museum Valley Gangneung has Korea’s largest exhibition hall. In reality, securing such vast land for an exhibition hall is very difficult. Regardless of the tendency, if media art exhibitions grow in size, I am concerned that it will become a war of scale rather than substance. In this early stage of development, I may be unduly worrying.

I’m intrigued about Arte Museum Valley Gangneung’s plans.

Our objective is to foster a culture in which anybody may enjoy art and produce works without regard for online or offline borders, similar to the NFT project we are now working on, in which anyone can become an artist. To achieve this objective, we used natural materials in our exhibition and worked hard to make it more welcoming and simpler for the audience to feel. Our display does not require any specific expertise and may be experienced using all five senses. Please come by at any moment to experience the ambiance of the place, find delight in those things, and snap lots of photographs to create beautiful memories.

Gangneung’s touring taxi for foreigners is a popular local tourism product through which you can visit the city’s major tourist attractions at low prices and have a safe, private, and convenient experience touring around the city.

For smooth communications, we equipped taxi drivers with foreign language skills. Moreover, we provide translators and simultaneous touring interpretation services for international visitiors.

You can apply online or pre-register at the tourist information center located in Gangneung Station.

Very popular among tourists in their 20s and 40s from Inland China, this is a route that has a great ocean view, including the coastal road from Junumjin to Gyeongpo and finally Anmok, which usually takes around three to four hours.

It includes a major cultural relic of Gangneung, which is a destination for many tourists in the Gyeongpo area. Specifically, there is Chodang Tofu Village, where Heonan Seolheon Memorial Park is located. It’s also the same place that is famous for mukbang tours, offering jjamppong soft tofu, gelato, and black sesame latte, which are all perfect for you to post on Instagram.

This is a popular route among Japanese tourists. You would be able visit Unification Park, which includes Raramuri, where the drama Boyfriend was filmed. It was also a media background for actor Jang Geun-seok. Also, you can visit Ojukheon, where you can experience the culture and understand the history of Korea and the city of Gangneung, Seongyujang, and Chodang Tofu Village.

This is a route popular among Chinese tourists, which serves as a round-trip solution to and from Jeongdongjin. You would be able to experience rail biking for an hour and choose one between Jungang Market or Anmok Coffee Street for your final destination. This route will take 3~4 hours.

This is route frequently recommended by guides for tourists who are planning to visit Ojukheon, a cultural heritage site, popular places such as coffee streets, Jungang Market, the filming site for “Spring Day” within Junmunjin, the filming site for Goblin, and the seafood market, which is a great place for enjoying snow crabs as part of your mukbang touring experience.

Gangneung Heritage Culture Night, which was first introduced in 2016, was a big issue in the culture and art world at the time. This is because, breaking away from the general format of festivals held during the day, the cultural assets were illuminated at night under the concept of a night culture festival, and people gathered to these cultural properties at night time.

Before the night event opened, the general perception of cultural assets was that they needed to be cherished and preserved. So the doors were locked at night and monitored with strict security and CCTV. They became subjects that needed to be protected without anyone entering. However, the idea of the Gangneung Heritage Culture Night was different. Cultural properties are valued through the interest of people and by finding a place in people’s memories. The memories created with cultural properties become the power to preserve and pass down these cultural properties.

Gangneung is a city that knows how to enjoy ‘festivals and fun’. For the past thousand years, the people of Gangenung enjoyed Dano in harmony with the gods and the heart of munhyang and yehyang continued through Dobae rituals. Also, as a city of ‘Hansongjeong’, it became a city that hosts coffee festivals. The civic consciousness to preserve and pass down the traditions of the region appear to be the driving force behind the Gangneung Heritage Culture Night.

The Gangneung Heritage Culture Night, which opens at night for people to walk around and enjoy the culture, is in itself ‘Gangneung’. It is not an ordinary festival with invited performances of famous singers or market place of merchants across the country, but a true spirit of Gangneung culture that shows its tradition and modernity at the same time by utilizing historical and unique cultural contents centered on cultural assets and by conjoining with the nearby old downtown and traditional market. At the Gangneung Heritage Culture Night, you can enjoy not only Gangneung’s tangible cultural assets but also Gangneung’s intangible cultural assets such as Gwanno Mask Play and Nong-ak, which is traditional Korean music performed by farmers. In addition, there are various attractions such as a reenactment of the arrival procession of the Daedohobusa, a government official who was appointed as the third grade of official in the Joseon Dynasty, in Gangneung with the motif of the Joseon Dynasty’s ‘procession form’, a changing of the guard’s ceremony performance, and a drone light show.

From September 29 (Thursday) to October 1 (Sat), Gangneung Heritage Culture Night will hold 38 programs with 8 themes of the night in the Gangneung-daedohobu Government Office area. We invite you to a beautiful night out that embraces the traditions of Gangneung.

There is rest, comfort, love and memories found in a cup of coffee. Recently, many people are visiting Gangneung to share a special cup of coffee with their loved ones. The open sea and pure nature harmonize with the fragrance of coffee to create even more beautiful memories.

But above all else, the main reason that draws people to Gangneung is the delicious coffee. There are several reasons why Gangneung coffee is delicious. The tea culture developed in Gangneung early on because the water that flows between the rocks of the deep mountain valley of Baekdu-daegan is famous for its clean taste without any after taste. Also, because Gangneung was the hometown of most writers, the coffee culture was able to sprout early. The tea culture that began in the Shilla period continued to the coffee culture, creating a coffee culture unique to Gangneung, differentiated from other regions. Representative first-generation coffees such as ‘Bohemian’ by Korea’s first generation barista Park Yi-Chu and ‘Terra Rosa’, a coffee factory, also played a part in this. Thanks to these people who have now become the symbol of Gangneung coffee, a group of coffee experts formed in Gangneung, and the culture of roasting coffee spread quickly. The coffee culture that started in this way has spread into people’s daily lives and is changing the urban culture. The history of ‘Gangneung Coffee’ was born through the harmony of the natural environment and the culture of enjoying tea, and this has created today’s branding of ‘Gangneung, the city of coffee’.

The ‘Gangneung Coffee Festival’ (hereafter ‘GCF’) held in Gangneung, the city of coffee, has great symbolism. GCF, which started in 2009, was the first coffee festival among local governments in Korea and is held every October. Over 500,000 tourists visit during the festival alone, and it is helping to revitalize the local economy with an economic effect of about 83.5 billion won (as of 2018). In addition, it ranked second in brand reputation among 81 festivals loved by domestic consumers, establishing itself as a great festival. Today, coffee is not just a drink, but a culture. In that sense, GCF is a tool to promote Gangneung, and furthermore, it is significant as a representative of Korea’s coffee culture.

The 14th Gangneung Coffee Festival, which will be held for 4 days from October 7th to 10th, 2022, will be held in the whole area of Gangneung City, including the Gangneung Arena, and the admission is free. If you are a coffee lover, you should visit Gangneung during the Gangneung Coffee Festival at least once and enjoy various experiences.

Myeongju Free Market is not just a flea market that sells used goods, but a free market where citizens share the value of sustainable life and resources, share the value of sharing, and sell various cultures such as food, crafts, and performance in an open space.

Myeongju Free Market, which began as part of the old downtown revitalization project to transform Gangneung into a sustainable city, has become a representative event of Gangneung thanks to the participation of many Gangneung citizens including Myeongju-dong residents.

The revitalized Myeongju-dong has become a neighborhood favorited by many tourists and Gangneung citizens again. Small cultural spaces and pretty cafes have entered, making it a bustling and fun area.

Just as the quiet old downtown Myeongju-dong has been transformed into a lively neighborhood, Gangneung will open a fun and rewarding eco-friendly life and culture market where all Gangneung citizens can participate in eco-friendly life and culture. Please join us in small actions for the sustainable city of Gangneung. Myeongju Free Market is waiting for you.

Enjoy the eco-friendly life and culture market where everyone is caring and considerate of each other!

2022. 10. 13 ~ 10. 16, held at Myeongju Arts Center –

Myeongju Puppet Festival, the first festival in 2014, was held annually from the second Wednesday to Sunday of August. It is celebrating its ninth anniversary this year. Due to COVID-19, the festival was held online from 2020 to 2021. This year, the festival will be held offline with the recovery to daily life. It is being prepared diligently to meet the visitors from October 13th to 16th.

Myeongju-dong, the former name of Gangneung, was the administrative center of Gangneung from the Gangneung-daedohobu Government Office to the current relocation of the city hall.

Although it became the old city center after the relocation of the city hall, it is recovering its light as the cultural center of Gangenung through the transformation of Manmin Church into a small performance hall and Myeongju Elementary School into the Myeongju Art Center.

Established in Myeongju-dong, the Myeongju Puppet Festival is a family cultural festival held yearly at the Gangneung-daedohobu Government Office, Myeongju Art Center, and a small performance hall. It hosts puppet show performances, exhibitions for children, and experience programs that can be enjoyed together. About 20 puppet theater performances, which are selected through contests or invitations of domestic and foreign puppet theater troupes, create scenes from fairy tales that children enjoy vividly or show new creative performances such as turning a paper cup into a puppet. The exhibition meets the viewpoint of the children through contents tailored to children such as a hand-knitted doll exhibition, a wooden doll exhibition, and an exhibition of world dolls. The Myeongju Puppet Festival, full of these programs, is a festival that attracts about 10,000 people every year. It is a children’s festivals where families can participate and enjoy.

The 9th Myeongju Puppet Festival consists of various performances by 22 theater companies, exhibitions by invited artists, and experience programs. For this year’s Myeonju Puppet Festival, works that were held online due to COVID-19 were invited to be shown offline. Audiences who were disappointed to see the puppet show only on the screen will be able to see the puppet show once again as a lively offline performance. The invitation exhibition will be ‘Colorful Days’ by artist Yang Jae-young. It is an exhibition where you can meet various characters interpreted with the sensibility of Yang Jae-young as paper toys and wooden dolls, and paper toy workshops will be held 2 to 3 times a day.

In particular, this year, both performances and exhibitions will be held free of charge for local residents who have endured COVID-19. We hope that you will enjoy culture and art through the puppet shows of ‘Myeongju Puppet Festival’ that unravel the various cultural forms such as fairy tales, oral folktales, and local stories and create memories with friends and families.

The ‘2022 Gangneung Wine Festival will be held in the Gangneung Wolhwa Street area for three days from November 4th to November 6th. Gangneung noticed the recent explosive growth of the wine industry and secured wine as a new tourism content item for the first time in Gangwon-do. It is expected that, through this wine festival, the base of wine culture within the local community will be expanded, and the wine industry in Gangneung will be fostered as a new growth engine to revitalize the local economy as well as the tourism industry.

As this is the festival’s first year the focus is on first popularizing wine and creating a wine culture of “a good city to consume wine.” To this end, programs and tasting events have been held throughout the year to provide a place where citizens can naturally experience wine in their daily life. Since July this year, before the festival period, programs such as wine seminars, sommelier training, and tasting events have been held throughout the year to expand the foundation, and it has been received very well by the citizens.

Before the festival, one of the year-round programs called “Sunset Wine Hour” was held at Yeongok Beach Solhyanggi Camping Site on July 30th and at Myeongju Art Madang outdoor deck on August 20th. “Sunset Wine Hour” is a free tasting event for people to watch the sunset while enjoying wine. There was a great response from the citizens and tourists. The program took reservations for 60 people each, and they were fully booked within 20 minutes of opening the reservation on the website. Thanks to the enthusiastic response, the 3rd “Sunset Wine Hour” is planned for November during the main festival period. The leading festival site is Wolhwa Street, so there will be a collaboration between traditional market food and wine. The available reservation will be for 100 people.

During this festival, liquor companies from the Gangneung region, overseas wine distributors, and wineries in the province will participate in tasting and publicity events. There will also be a market where wine can be purchased at a low price. In addition, there will be a “Vegan Wine & Food Zone”, which introduces vegan wine and food pairings, which has been receiving high interest recently. Accommodation packages that provide wine and local hotel accommodations will be prepared to select visitors with a special wine-related story. There will also be a non-alcoholic wine-making class that festival participants can experience.

The World Choir Games, which began in 2000 in Linz, Austria, is the largest choir event in the world and is presented by the German Interkultur Foundation. It is conducted every two years and 20,000 individuals from 60 to 90 nations participate every time. In April 2020, the 12th World Choir Games was confirmed to take place in Gangneung City. Due to the coronavirus, the event was initially slated to take place this year, but was postponed by one year. Consequently, it will take place in Gangneung City and in the DMZ Museum in Gangneung-do from July 3 to July 13 of the following year.

A lovely harmony to pray for world peace and prosperity will echo in Gangneung for 11 days next year, from July 3 to 13. It will be the 2023 World Choir Games in Gangneung. Although it may be less familiar, it is a well-known international choral competition in the global culture community. When only choir members and officials are counted, excluding regular visitors, an average of around 20,000 persons from 70 different nations have attended. It is comparable to any other Olympics.

Next year’s competition holds the significance to dispel the coronavirus-induced shadows that have fallen over the global village. Therefore, the event’s theme is healing and harmony, as well as peace and prosperity for everyone. Beyond Gangneung, a city of culture and art, we intend to launch a new brand named “Gangneung, the hub of world peace” with this initiative. Moreover, if this Choir Games is successfully performed using the legacy of the Winter Olympics, it is anticipated that the MICE sector, one of Gangneung City’s future industries, will be activated as well, and a high-performance engine for regional growth will be developed.

Gangwon-do has proposed hosting the World Choir Games in October 2019. Gangneung was selected as the ultimate host city on April 16, 2020, after a tough competition from 36 cities, including Dubai and the European Union. In April of last year, Yong-soo Heo, CEO of GS Energy, was selected as the director of organizing committee and the secretariat was established.

The next year’s competition will take place at the Gangneung Arena and other Winter Olympic venues, the Gangneung Stadium, and the Gangneung Art Center. On the outdoor stage of the Goseong DMZ Museum, a performance to pray for peace will take place. The Haeram Cultural Center of Gangneung-Wonju University, the Gangneung Danoje Training Center, the Gangneung Central Methodist Church, and the Gangneung Presbyterian Church will also host activities to establish the contest among local residents.

The competition is divided into two sections: competitive and non-competitive. Only choirs having a history of competing in international competitions are eligible to compete in the competitive division, whereas any chorus, regardless of their experience in international contests, is eligible to compete in the non-competitive division.

The economic repercussions are significant as well. According to a professional service agency analysis, the production enticement impact is anticipated to be over 130 billion won, the value-added effect to be around 60 billion won, and the employment inducement effect to be around 4,500 persons.

What is more crucial than the economic impact is that the harmony of global unity which crosses national, ethnic, and class boundaries will unfold in Gangneung. Let us wait for the heavenly melodies that dissolve disputes and clashes intensifying throughout the world in the twenty-first century.

The Gangneung Danoje, which was registered as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005, is a traditional festival with a thousand-year history.

Danoje is a massive festival held in Gangneung from April 5 to early May according to the lunar calendar. Events on May 3 of the lunar calendar include the Yeongsin procession in which the ancestral tablets of Guksa Seonghwangsin (the god and goddess protecting the State Preceptor) and sinmok (divine tree) are carried to the altar and an exciting street parade highlighting the characteristics unique to each village. Dano, which is celebrated on May 5 of the lunar calendar, is regarded to be the day on which the greatest amount of yanggi (positive energy) is emanated, and it is also called Surit-nal, Cheonjungjeol, and Danyang. During the Dano Festival, the people of Gangneung traditionally prayed for a bountiful harvest and a big catch of fish by holding a rite for Daegwallyeong Guksa Seonghwangsin. This tradition was carried on even during the Japanese occupation period and the Korean War.

During Dano-gut (traditional Korean shamanic ritual) at Namdaecheon Stream, the main venue of the Danoje, the shaman sings a song plaintively to express an earnest wish for peace within each household and for children to enjoy long, healthy lives. Merchants from all over the country flock to the festival, offering all kinds of goods, and next to them, people share their joys and sorrows by sharing makgeolli (rice wine), gamja-jeon (potato pancakes), and surichwitteok (rice cake made from a kind of marsh plant).

The Gwanno Mask Drama, which can only be seen at the Gangneung Danoje, is a pantomime performed solely with dance and gestures. It expresses the wish for abundance and a bountiful catch as well as reconciliation through communication.

The Gangneung Dano Festival, which had not been held for the past two years due to COVID-19, was held in Gangneung for 8 days from May 30 to June 6, 2022, after the lifting of the social distancing policy. The festival kicked off with the Gwanno Mask Drama and delighted visitors with plenty of things to see and experience, such as nongak (traditional farmers’ music) performances, Gangneung Autonomous Community’s big party, a rendition of a traditional wedding ceremony, and experiential activities such as tasting surichwitteok rice cakes and sinju (liquor brewed for the rite) and washing hair in water infused with sweet flags.

The Gangneung Dano Festival 2022 concluded with the fireworks launched from Wolhwagyo Bridge.

Gyeongpodae, a famous pavilion in Gangneung that has been designated as Treasure No. 2046, provides an unobstructed view of the Gyeongpo Lake, which is “clear as a mirror,” the blue sea, and the east coast with its long stretches of a white sandy beach. Gyeongpodae Pavilion is a splendid sightseeing spot where stunning scenery can be witnessed.

As you climb toward the pavilion, the massive pine trees that are hundreds of years old will take your breath away, and the long history of the area will suddenly hit you. The depth of time can be felt even from the cherry trees with their branches outstretched toward the Gyeongpo Lake. In spring, visitors can enjoy the sight of the splendid old pines and the exquisite cherry blossoms in full bloom.

The scenery around the pavilion is absolutely breathtaking. This is why poets with an eye for beauty have visited Gyeongpodae Pavilion since long ago and left behind masterpieces, while being intoxicated by the spectacular scenery unfolding before their eyes. If observing with your eyes is not enough for you, then there is a way to become fully immersed in it. Like the poets of the past, climb the tower to take in a striking view of the sparkling Gyeongpo Lake in front of you and watch the blue waves hitting Gyeongpo Beach at a distance.

There is also a hidden secret that when evening falls and the moonlight pours down on the pavilion, you can see “five moons”: one in the sky, one on the sea, one on the lake, one in a liquor glass, and one in the eye of the person you love.

It’s not just the moon that looks particularly beautiful from here. You can also enjoy the 8 scenic sites of Gyeongpo, which include sunrise, sunset, boat lights, the sound of rain, and the sound of temple bells. These 8 scenic sites of Gyeongpo extend beyond beautiful scenery and encompass the long traditions, sentiments, and history of Gangneung.

It takes about an hour to look around along the Gyeongpo Lake promenade, which is about 4 km long, but make no mistake; there will not be a moment of boredom, with eye-catching sculptures along the path, migratory birds swimming leisurely in the lake, and cherry trees with enchanting blossoms every spring. At some point, you will stop in your tracks to admire the view of the elegant Gyeongpodae Pavilion.

Gangneung-daedohobu Government Office, designated as Historic Site No. 388, appears imposing amid the modern buildings in downtown Gangneung. Initially built as a guesthouse during the Goryeo Dynasty, it was where central government officials stayed during a visit to Gangneung from the Goryeo Dynasty until the Joseon Dynasty. During the Japanese colonial era, most of the buildings were destroyed, but the original appearance of the site is being gradually restored through restoration projects carried out since 2000.

The first thing you will see when you visit this place is the Main Gate of Imyeonggwan Guesthouse (National Treasure No. 51), the sole national treasure in Gangneung. The Main Gate of Imyeonggwan Guesthouse is the oldest guesthouse gate present, and it survived the demolition of government offices during the Japanese occupation period.

It is an octagonal gate with a beautiful roof, and although it is small, it provides a glimpse of the aesthetics of wooden architecture dating from the Goryeo Dynasty. It features the largest “baeheullim gidung (entasis, or convex, column)” among all wooden buildings in Korea, with a column that is wider in the middle than at the ends, giving it a bloated or convex appearance, that compensates for the optical illusion that occurs when a column is completely straight. The signboard is considered invaluable as the name was personally handwritten by King Gongmin of the Goryeo Dynasty.

Chilsadang Shrine (Hall of Seven Deities), located on the far left of Daedohobu Government Office, is a building that has been preserved along with Gaeksamun Gate and designated as Gangwon-do Regional Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 7. Chilsadang was built during the Joseon Dynasty.

There is a flower pot between the front columns of Chilsadang, and the bottom is in the shape of fish. There are a total of seven fish shapes at Chilsadang, which are fun to seek and find.

Gangneung-daebohobu Government Office is more than a cultural heritage site with historical value, as it is a lively place that hosts a wide variety of cultural events such as the Gangneung Culture Night and the Hello World Festival, thereby establishing itself as an iconic cultural platform in Gangneung.

Seongyojang House was given its name based on a story that in ancient times, a bridge was built across Gyeongpo Lake using boats. Seongyojang, a 300-year-old old house featuring the typical architectural style of traditional houses of the gentry during the Joseon Dynasty, has been in the family for over ten generations.

Beyond the main gate, the tranquil and elegant home will provide a pleasant solace. Yeolhwadang, which means a “house where there are pleasant conversations,” was a place where people gathered to discuss learning and the arts. Located on the side of a pond that is full of lotus leaves and flowers, Hallaejeong, which appears as though it is floating on the pond, was always wide open to welcome guests. When you climb up the mountain trail, you will arrive where you can take in an unobstructed view of Seongyojang House.

Perhaps it was because the site was auspicious, but the family that owned Seongyojang House enjoyed wealth one generation after another. They were known for being very generous and showing great hospitality to their guests and visitors. Even today, Seongyojang House is visited by many. To carry on the legacy of their ancestors, the family clan welcomes visitors with a wide range of experience programs and activities.

They offer Hanok Stay for people to experience the beauty of hanok (A type of traditional Korean house first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty), or traditional Korean house, by staying at the house. The dasik (tea confectionery)-making program is arguably the most popular and famous program, and other experience programs include making baedari, based on which one can learn the etymology of Seongyojang, and trying on hanbok, which reminds people of the beauty of the traditional Korean attire. The Wednesday Music Stroll is a concert held on the outdoor stage every Wednesday for people to appreciate the beauty of hanok along with the music produced by traditional Korean instruments.

This is a place where you can truly experience traditional culture and heritage with not just your eyes but all your senses, and the experiences you create here will surely last a lifetime. We suggest visiting Seongyojang House for a pleasant retreat into the past.

“Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Park” was established to pay tribute to Gyosan Heo Gyun, the author of the first novel to be written in Hangeul (the phonetic alphabet used to write the Korean language), “Hong Gildong-jeon (The Story of Hong Gil-dong),” which presents a revolutionary idea of eradicating the class system and achieving equality in the Joseon Dynasty, and Naseolheon Heo Cho-hui, whose poetry and paintings became widely famous in China and Japan despite the constraints she experienced as a woman.

Heo Cho-hui was a prominent writer in the mid-Joseon Dynasty who left behind over 300 poems as well as proses and essays. She also excelled at calligraphy and painting. In the Joseon Dynasty, it was customary not to call women by their names, but her younger brother, Heo Gyun, who did not want her talent to remain obscure, had her works published under her own name in the Ming Dynasty.

Heo Gyun was as talented as his older sister. As he studied various academic disciplines as well as poetry, he began to recognize the irrational systems and inequality that exist in society, and he dreamed of a world where people interacted and communicated with one another, regardless of their social status. The book that resulted from this vision was “The Story of Hong Gil-dong.”

In the pine forest in Chodang-dong, where Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon spent their childhood, there is a memorial park that was established to celebrate their literary works.

Past the entrance, there is a memorial hall providing a glimpse into the lives of the two siblings, and there is a trail beyond it that leads to a monument left by the five writers of the Heo family.

Continue following the trail to arrive at the birthplace of Heo Nanseolheon, where she was born and raised. The tile-roofed house built in the typical architectural style of hanok (A type of traditional Korean house first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty) built for the gentry is surrounded by a pine forest in peaceful tranquility.

The old house appears even more stunning with enchanting cherry blossoms in spring and colorful leaves in autumn. This impressive scenery, which Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon must have enjoyed while grown up, blurs the boundary between the past and the present, making the onlookers feel as though the siblings are taking in the awe-inspiring sight next to them.

Shin Saimdang was a brilliant artist of the mid-Joseon Dynasty and the mother of Yulgok. With exceptional artistic sensibility, she was well-versed in all genres of the arts and literature including poetry, painting, and calligraphy, but she was especially talented in painting.

Shin Saimdang was a self-taught artist who began painting at the age of 7, and she was praised by Yulgok’s teacher who said she was comparable to An Gyeon, a preeminent painter during the reign of King Sejong the Great. Shin Saimdang often painted insects, grapes, plum blossoms, and orchids, and there is a story that a chicken pecked at the insects she had painted because they looked so realistic. At the Ojukheon Municipal Museum, her paintings : chochungdo, are on display. These paintings featuring flowers and insects as well as fruit and vegetable provides a glimpse of her ability to depict the subject delicately.

Her artistic talent ran in the blood. Her eldest daughter, Yi Mae-chang, and fourth son, Yi Wu, were exceptional at painting and calligraphy, and her third son, Yulgok, a brilliant scholar and master of Neo-Confucianism in the Joseon Dynasty, was also lauded for his artistry. Yulgok said that “she painted grapes and no one in the world could ever emulate her.”

Ojukheon House, designated as Treasure No. 165, was Shin Saimdang’s parents’ home, where Yulgok was born and raised. It was given its name because of the presence of Ojuk, a black bamboo, near it. It is the oldest house in Korea and is considered invaluable as it sheds light on the architectural style from when it was built.

All buildings except for Ojukheon and sarangchae have been restored. The oldest building and the restored buildings have become a symbol of the Ojukheon Municipal Museum, which bridges the temporal gap between them.

Shin Saimdang and Yulgok Yi Yi are always close to us, being the faces on the 5,000-won and 50,000-won bills as the world’s first-ever mother and son to both appear on banknotes. The place depicted in the background of the 5,000-won bill is Ojukheon House, which is further proof of its immense historical and cultural significance.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) organizes the Youth Olympic Games, a global youth sports event. Three Olympic games were staged, beginning with the Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria in 2012 and finishing with the Lausanne Games in 2020. It shares some similarities with the adult Olympics, but there is a significant distinction in that it emphasizes engagement of the youth, education, and cultural events. In a nutshell, it is a competition 'for, with, and by youth'.

The Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024, Asia's first Winter Youth Olympic Games, will be hosted in four cities in Gangwon-do (Gangneung, Pyeongchang, Jeongseon, and Hoengseong), including Gangneung, from January 19 to February 1, 2024.

7 games, 15 events, and 81 sub-events will be held in two categories, 'ice' and 'snow'. Short-track skating, speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey, and curling are all ice events. Seven skiing events such as alpine, freestyle, snowboarding, ski jumping, cross-country, Nordic combined, and biathlon are examples of snow sports. Sliding competitions are separated into three events: bobsled, skeleton, and luge.

The Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 will include around 2,900 competitors, including 1,900 athletes from 70 nations and 1,000 directors and coaches. Around 6,000 individuals from other countries are anticipated to attend, including the press corps and the Olympic family. By keeping the same number of participants, 950 male and female, this event strives for gender equality

The event is being prepared so that many visitors can enjoy various cultural events and educational programs by reflecting the vision of 'Sports of joy and growth, a peaceful future opened by coexistence and harmony,' and based on the four action areas of 'discovery and encounter,' 'connection and challenge,' 'coexistence,' and 'sustainability' to help young people learn.

It is also worth noting that it is built on the Olympic legacy of PyeongChang 2018. Reminiscing about the passionate 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and anticipating a new chapter in history will also be enjoyable.

The legacy of countries, cities, and individuals left behind after the dreamlike Olympics.
The Olympic Park and Olympic Stadium will stay in Gangneung, the host city of ice skating competitions after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Gangneung Ice Arena, Gangneung Speed Skating Stadium, Gangneung Hockey Center, Kwandong Hockey Center, and Gangneung Curling Center are the five remaining ice arenas

The 'Gangneung Ice Arena,' which hosted figure skating and short track events during the Winter Olympics, is now being used as a multifunctional cultural and sports facility. It has four floors above ground and two floors below ground, with the ground floor hosting cultural events such as performances, concerts, exhibits, and conventions, as well as sporting activities like table tennis and badminton.

A swimming pool for Gangneung residents was built in October 2022 and is set to open in February of this year. The Gangneung Arena swimming pool is 50 meters long and contains eight lanes. It is presently in testing mode.

If you visit the 'Gangneung Ice Arena', you cannot miss the 'Gangneung Olympic Museum'.
The 'Gangneung Olympic Museum,' which opened at the 'Gangneung Ice Arena' in December 2021, is made up of two memorial halls that tell the story of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics from A to Z. Moreover, the 'Olympic Volunteer Memorial Hall,' which may be dubbed the Olympics' flower, exhibits the uniforms and actions of volunteers who worked tirelessly for the successful hosting of the Olympics even in inconspicuous locations, showing their commitment and importance.

Because it was designed specifically for curling, the 'Gangneung Curling Center' is now in use as a curling center. The curling ground on the first level, complete with a curling alley, is ready for curling competitions and field training, and the general public can also try their hand at curling. Curling lasts about an hour, and bookings can be made over the phone up to two weeks in advance. The ice rink on the first basement floor is intended for people to skate and enjoy their experiences.

The 'Gangneung Hockey Center,' which used to be an ice hockey stadium, is now utilized for ice hockey tournaments and field training. The revived 'Gangneung Speed Skating Stadium' is a sophisticated sports convention arena for exhibits and conventions, featuring indoor sports experiences, drones, and E-sports events.

Among these are the 'Gangneung Curling Center' and the 'Gangneung Hockey Center,' which will serve as home sites for the 'World Mixed Doubles and Senior Curling Championships 2023,' which will be hosted in Gangneung this year. The 'World Mixed Doubles and Senior Curling Championships 2023' will be the first international curling event held in 14 years, since the Women's Curling World Championships 2009, and the first international competition held in 5 years since the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 and Asia Pacific Championships 2018. In addition to these two events, it will serve as a location for the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics 2024.

The Olympic Stadiums, a legacy of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in Gangneung, are not only remembered but are being used in a variety of ways, poised to set other legendary records.