The 5th Songjeong Makgeolli Festival runs Friday and Saturday at Donghae Station Plaza
Songjeong, a neighborhood in the southeastern Gangwon Province city of Donghae, is home to the city's signature coastal pine forest, planted generations ago as a windbreak. Similar pine groves bearing the same name can be found in Busan and Gangneung, though Gwangju's Songjeong carries a slightly different meaning.
Beneath those pines, residents' forebears once gathered to drink makgeolli and play baduk. Sheltered from sea winds and shaded from the sun, the grove was a natural resting place.
Until plans for Donghae Port were drawn up, Bukpyeong Beach on the southern edge of the Songjeong pine village was the premier summer destination on the East Sea coast through the 1970s. Today the shoreline serves as a passage for large cargo vessels.
Donghae Station sits within the same Songjeong-dong neighborhood, and the pine village is currently undergoing smart-village infrastructure upgrades.
That storied atmosphere is set to come alive again. The 5th Songjeong Makgeolli Festival, celebrating the history and culture of Songjeong-dong through makgeolli, will be held Friday and Saturday at Donghae Station Plaza and surrounding shops.
Organized by the Songjeong Makgeolli Festival Committee, the event aims to weave the neighborhood's distinctive history and culture together with its brewing tradition to reinvigorate the local community.
The two-day program kicks off with an eve-of-festival event and continues with cultural performances, games using makgeolli bottles, and hands-on brewing workshops.
A food market will offer tastings of locally made makgeolli — including Songjeong Makgeolli and Jijangsu Makgeolli — alongside multicultural dishes, complemented by an exhibition tracing Songjeong's history and culture.
With Donghae Station serving as a key rail hub on the East Sea coast, organizers are also actively courting out-of-town visitors by partnering with Korail to offer train travel packages tied to the festival.
Donghae city officials expect the festival to raise the profile of local makgeolli brands nationwide and to boost the regional economy by drawing tourists and spurring the development of distinctive local food products.
"The Songjeong Makgeolli Festival is more than just a food event — it is a meaningful community celebration that carries the history of Songjeong and the lives of its residents," said Jeong Jin-geun, head of Songjeong-dong.
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