Opening ceremony set for Friday evening; children take center stage as both participants and guests of honor
Donghae — a city nestled between the East Sea and the peaks of Duta and Cheongoksan mountains, with Mureung Valley at its heart — will hold the opening ceremony of its 39th Mureungje festival Friday evening.
Events featuring cultural tourism and food offerings for visitors and residents began Thursday, while the "Donghae Sale Festa," designed to channel festival spending into the local economy, opened Monday and runs through Sunday, when all Mureungje programming wraps up.
The main venue, Donghae Wellbeing Leisure Sports Town, has been fitted with 5,500 seats, and the approach roads to the festival grounds have been adorned with a tunnel of light made up of more than 560 traditional lanterns.
Donghae Mayor Lee Jeong-hak led staff on a final walkthrough of the venue Thursday — the day before the opening ceremony — personally inspecting electrical and gas systems, sanitation, facilities, visitor flow routes, and fire and emergency response arrangements.
Children's activity spaces and food booths have also completed their preparations. The Donghae Culture and Arts Center, a secondary venue, is likewise ready to welcome residents and visitors.
Friday afternoon's program opens with special performances by a Navy entertainment troupe and an arts group from China's Anhui Province, followed by the official opening ceremony at 7:15 p.m. and a celebratory concert featuring Jang Min-ho, Norazo, Park Hye-sin, Choi Su-ho and Yu Min.
Seven shuttle buses will run at 15-minute intervals for visitor convenience, with rest areas and restrooms also available. Organizers are urging attendees to use the shuttle service on Friday and Saturday evenings, when heavy congestion is expected around the venue.
A "Donghae Love Receipt Tour" promotion will also run during the festival: visitors who present a receipt of 30,000 won ($22) or more from a local business, or a ticket to a local tourist attraction, can claim a commemorative gift.
Twelve local restaurants are taking part in the food zone, showcasing a range of regional dishes through the "One Bite of Donghae" program.
The festival is designed to make children and teenagers both contributors and guests of honor, not just spectators. Programming for younger attendees includes a hands-on activity pavilion, traditional folk games, a youth dance festival, and performances by community arts clubs and professional artists.
A martial arts demonstration by the special operations unit of the 1st Mountain Brigade will make its debut at this year's festival.
Local military personnel, artists and young people will take the stage directly, broadening the range of festival content.
Based on feedback gathered at last year's festival, organizers have scrapped the civic parade and replaced the competitive inter-neighborhood folk games — which previously awarded prizes by ranking — with a participation-based format in which all entrants receive commemorative gifts, shifting the emphasis from competition to inclusion and community spirit.
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