Yeongju to hold traditional 'Putgut' folk culture festival at Museom Village on Saturday

Yeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province will hold a traditional culture event called "Jonggatjip Ilkkun-deul-ui Putgut Gutpan Hanmadang" (a folk festival recreating the harvest-season rest traditions of estate workers) at Museom Village, a nationally designated folk cultural heritage site, on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The event is part of the Cultural Heritage Administration's competitive grant program, the "2026 Woori Gojang National Heritage Utilization Project — Historic House and Head-Family Estate Utilization Project." It is designed to promote the traditional culture and historical value of Museom Village while offering tourists a special cultural experience.

"Putgut" is a seasonal folk custom in which farmhands paused their grueling summer fieldwork to share food, play games and enjoy leisure together.

The event reinterprets the spirit of putgut for a modern audience, inviting participants to spend the day as workers on a traditional head-family estate and experience the lifestyle and communal games of old rural Korea.

The main event, a traditional rope game called dansimjul nori, will be held twice — at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Starting at 4 p.m., a performance by the creative theater troupe Kkakdugi will be followed by a group ganggangsullae circle dance open to all participants.

A range of hands-on activities will also be available throughout the day — fortune-telling for the second half of the year, a seasonal customs memory game, a Museom quiz walk, commemorative badge making, a traditional board game called seunggyeongdo, a singing bowl experience and rice cake pounding.

"We hope many families, friends and couples will visit Museom Village and enjoy a special day where tradition and play come together," said Kim Myeong-ja, head of Yeongju City's Culture and Arts Division.