Residents of Sangmuryong 2-ri in Yanggu-gun lead a two-day festival Oct. 3-4, featuring performances, exhibitions and food — alongside a declaration of the village as a 'Promise Cube Village'
A special festival celebrating the history, culture and food of a partially submerged lakeside village will be held in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, set against the scenic backdrop of Lake Paro and the Sangmuryong suspension bridge.
Sangmuryong 2-ri in Yanggu-eup will host the Dancing Dragon festival for two days — Saturday and Sunday — at the Sangmuryong suspension bridge and its surroundings.
The name "Dancing Dragon" draws on the village's name — Muryong, meaning "dancing dragon" — and expresses the hope that both residents and visitors will be filled with joy and good fortune. Muryongni is divided administratively into upper and lower sections; the festival takes place in the upper section, Sangmuryong 2-ri.
Planned and run entirely by residents, the festival was conceived to promote the village by weaving together its natural environment, history and community stories into a single tourism experience.
Much of the village was flooded after the Hwacheon Dam was built, and the community became a remote outpost where residents had to cross the lake by privately owned boats just to reach the roads connecting them to the county office and the wider world.
A study commissioned by Yanggu-gun found that the village and surrounding area suffered losses of around 3 trillion won ($2.21 billion) over as many as 80 years — stemming from water and electricity supply to the greater Seoul area through the dam, as well as defense regulations in the border zone — while actual support for local infrastructure and livelihoods amounted to only about 200 billion won. Sangmuryong 2-ri is among the communities that bore those losses.
It was only in 2022, when the Sangmuryong bridge was completed, that residents of Seoho village in Sangmuryong 2-ri could finally walk to connect with the outside world.
Those who stayed have set aside the hardships of the past and are throwing themselves into efforts to transform Sangmuryong 2-ri into a celebrated tourist destination by building on the bridge and the village's growing profile.
The festival's greatest draw is the range of programs visitors can enjoy with the 335-meter suspension bridge spanning Lake Paro as a backdrop. The event also doubles as a humanities journey, inviting guests to listen to residents' life stories and share in their experiences.
Ranked eighth among Yanggu-gun's nine scenic spots, the Sangmuryong suspension bridge is a pedestrian-only span of 335 meters connecting Wolmyeong-ri in Yanggu-eup with Sangmuryong 2-ri.
For more than 70 years after the Hwacheon Dam was completed in 1944, residents of Sangmuryong 2-ri crossed to Yanggu-eup by boat. That changed on Aug. 31, 2022, when the suspension bridge opened — fitted with reinforced glass panels on sections of the walkway so visitors can look straight down at the waters of Lake Paro below. The bridge has since become one of Yanggu-gun's signature attractions, celebrated for the panoramic views it offers of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
One of the highlights of this year's festival is a ceremony declaring Sangmuryong a "Promise Cube Village."
The declaration marks the village's first step toward becoming a global village brand by positioning Sangmuryong as a center for the Promise Cube — a concept centered on the wisdom of living together.
The Promise Cube is a creation of artist Hong Seong-min, embodying the values of equality, peace and coexistence. Starting with this ceremony, Sangmuryong 2-ri plans to develop the village's stories and values into a new community brand.
To mark the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, the village has prepared Promise Cube gifts for the first 100 children — including those who leave comments on the village blog — on a first-come, first-served basis.
Children who want to receive a Promise Cube can comment on the Dancing Dragon festival post on the village blog, writing "I'm applying! 3" if, for example, three children in their group wish to participate.
Throughout the festival, sessions introducing the history and transformation of Sangmuryong village will be interspersed with resident performances. The stage lineup includes ukulele performances, poetry readings inspired by Sangmuryong, nostalgic accordion busking, a rock band, a guest singer, line dancing, janggu drumming and a senior model fashion show.
Beyond the stage, visitors can join a treasure hunt along the village lanes, take a boat ride on Lake Paro, browse a poetry exhibition inspired by the village, and view "Memories of Seoho," a photo exhibition showcasing the village's past.
Food and local produce will also feature prominently, as befits any festival.
Highlights include a special exhibition and sale of agricultural and forestry products grown in the village, a Sangmuryong cafe, a lakeside snack bar, outdoor food stalls and a remote-village food and drink experience — all designed to give visitors a taste of the village's warm atmosphere and traditional flavors.
"The Dancing Dragon festival carries great significance as a resident-led event — one where the villagers themselves planned and prepared content that weaves together the tourism resource of the Sangmuryong suspension bridge with the village's history, culture and people's stories," said Park Hyeon-jeong, head of the tourism and culture division. "We will actively support the festival so that it can offer visitors to Yanggu-gun something new to enjoy and grow into a sustainable village tourism experience that reflects the unique character of Sangmuryong 2-ri."
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