Gimje

October attractions: Gimje Horizon Festival, Jinju Lantern Festivals

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• published: 04 Oct 2016
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10월에 가볼만한 곳, 어디 있을까? The sky is high and the breeze cool - yes, it is the autumn season here in Korea. And, there is no better time to be traveling here in this country. Where to be; how to enjoy... Our Oh Jung-hee has them all. Autumn's a season full of festivals here in Korea. So I took a short trip to the cities of Gimje and Jinju, which hosted two of the country's biggest. The Gimje Horizon Festival was held in Gimje, Jeollabuk-do Province, which is often called Korea's breadbasket. It replicated Korea's old farming villages... with thatched houses, scarecrows, and traditional amusements like swings and tight-rope walking. "Gimje is the center of Korea's western granary,... and it's home to Asia's largest reservoir, Byeokgolje. This festival sheds light on our ancestors' farming culture and ways of life." Visitors could try out activities associated with rural life... like cooking rice the old-fashioned way using an iron pot on a wood fire. "At home we normally use an electric rice cooker, so it's really fun to cook rice with pots. I'm looking forward to tasting it." The whole process looked new and interesting to me as well, so I decided to try it out myself. I put rice and a bit of water in an iron pot, stoked the fire, and let the rice boil for 10 to 15 minutes. A short wait,... and there it was -- a pot of steaming, white rice. "This is the rice that I just made,... and it's very delicious." Elsewhere at the site was a music competition. Teams from all across the country showed off their best Nongak -- that is, the traditional folk music played by farmers. Each team presented their own musical style, choreography and costumes,... and captivated hundreds of visitors. "The music is so exciting I was clapping along the whole time." "We don't have anything like this in the States because people come from all over, different countries. We don't have just one traditional costume, one traditional dance, so to come and see that, it's very different, it's very interesting." In the afternoon, I headed down to Korea's southern city of Jinju,... where tens of thousands of people were enjoying the Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival. Starting with beautiful fireworks,... it offered a variety of attractions to visitors from not only Korea but from all over the world. The river was a small vision of the world -- there was the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the British Queen's Guard. "It was so big, and there're so many things, and goes so far that way and so far that way, it just blew my mind that this was just put together. ... Look at this background This is so amazing, and it's absolutely stunning here. I got in line at the booth to buy one of the festival's namesake lanterns. I wrote down my wish for this year on the lantern,... lit it, and headed down to the dock. "Another way to have fun at the festival, besides appreciating the lanterns, is to make your own and write your wish on it I just made mine, and will now float this on the river." The lanterns on the river shone like stars in the night sky. Some were hesitant to send off their creations,.. making sure to take plenty of photos and cherishing the moment. "We wished that we'll be together for a long time... and eventually get married ." "On my lantern, I wished for a year filled with good times, good friends, and new experiences. I just moved to South Korea so I'm hoping that this entire year is full of all these things." The Gimje Horizon Festival ended on Monday,... but the Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival will shine on until the 16th of this month. Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): http://www.facebook.com/newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arirangtv Twitter: http://twitter.com/arirangworld Instagram: http://instagram.com/arirangworld