The Inje Autumn Flower Festival opens Thursday — the first day of the Chuseok holiday — and runs through Oct. 11, spanning 18 days at the Yongdae tourist area in Buk-myeon under the theme "Walk only flower-lined paths in Inje."
Having surpassed 300,000 visitors last year, the festival this year has expanded its flower fields, rest areas, and hands-on performance programs to welcome even more tourists.
This year's festival grounds are organized into themed zones: "Path of Happiness," "Path of Love," "Path of Connection," and "Path of Healing."
The Path of Happiness will feature the "Park In-hwan Romantic Garden," created to mark the centenary of the poet Park In-hwan's birth. The garden weaves together autumn blooms — chrysanthemums and oxeye daisies among them — with landscape sculptures inspired by Park's works and literary world, blending flowers and literature in a single setting.
The Path of Love covers about 31,000 square meters and spreads a vivid array of flowers including verbena, oxeye daisies, cockscomb, petunias and sunflowers, complemented by photo zones, landscape sculptures and a chrysanthemum bonsai exhibition.
The Path of Connection, centered on a waterside promenade, offers a waterfall, water sculptures and a slow-mail post box, while the Path of Healing, set within a pine forest, features a forest café, a treehouse, tree climbing, artist and community gardens, and a woodland experience area for young children.
Throughout the festival, visitors can take part in busking performances, special shows, a rock-paper-scissors tournament, a stamp tour, a social media review event and a national plein-air painting competition. Agricultural specialty product stalls, a chrysanthemum sales booth and food trucks will also operate, giving visitors plenty to see, eat and do.
With opening day one day away, organizers were putting finishing touches on the grounds Wednesday, conducting final checks of the flower fields, landscape sculptures, facilities and visitor pathways. County officials said they were carefully reviewing the entire venue to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for all visitors.
A special city tour route linking the festival with Inje-gun's major attractions will also run during the event. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays throughout the festival period, a dedicated route will connect the autumn flower festival grounds, the Yeocho Calligraphy Museum and Baekdamsa temple, allowing tourists to take in both the festival and key local sites in a single day. Reservations can be made through Inje-gun's tourism platform "Jigeum, Yeogi, Inje!" (Now, Here, Inje!). The service will not operate on Friday, the Chuseok holiday itself.
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