A world tour in Chuncheon: Global traditional games come to the dakgalbi festival

Chuncheon's dakgalbi — spicy stir-fried chicken — has already won over celebrity chefs in Europe, and it is steadily making its mark on the world stage.

Running through Sunday, the Chuncheon Makguksu Dakgalbi Festival has brought together folk traditions from countries around the globe, each showcasing its own cultural character in the heart of the city.

As Chuncheon's dakgalbi ventures out to the world, the world's cultures are finding their way back to Chuncheon.

A global traditional games zone has been set up within the festival grounds along the Gongji Stream waterfront promenade, a riverside walkway cherished in the memories of many Koreans.

Chuncheon has put together a participatory program that lets visitors experience not only local foods like makguksu and dakgalbi, but also the living cultures of countries around the world.

Visitors can try a variety of games from abroad, including Ethiopia's Gebeta, Colombia's Rana and Italy's Tris.

Gebeta is an Ethiopian strategy game in which players move stones placed in holes on a wooden board, taking turns to capture more stones than their opponent to win.

Rana is a traditional Colombian game in which players toss rings at a frog-shaped target from a set distance, aiming to land them in the frog's mouth or through a hole to accumulate points.

Tris is an Italian strategy game in which two players take turns placing X and O markers on a 3-by-3 grid. The first to connect three in a row — horizontally, vertically or diagonally — wins the round. Think of it as a casino you build by hand, one move at a time.

Meanwhile, the Makguksu and Dakgalbi Experience Pavilion at the festival grounds holds a daily event giving away 100 servings of makguksu to visitors and tourists.

Visitors received bowls of makguksu to enjoy with family and neighbors, savoring one of Chuncheon's signature dishes. The event was designed so that anyone at the festival could experience the flavors of Chuncheon at no cost.

Through the final day of the festival on Sunday, the pavilion will give away 100 servings of makguksu at 2 p.m. and 100 servings of dakgalbi at 5 p.m. every day.