Busan Gwangalli Eobang Festival

Reporter Choi Ha-eun

haeun.choi.2002@gmail.com

After the industrial revolution, people's lives have become more convenient, but lots of precious traditions were lost and forgotten. However, Gwangalli Eobang Festival is a unique festival that delivers the folk culture of a traditional fishing village in Korea. The main theme of the festival is Eobang which is the cooperative fishing industry of fishermen and the naval forces of the Chosun Dynasty period. In the age of Chosun, people placed Eobang inside of the castle to teach fishing skills to promote the fishing industry and help each other or sing as they worked.

The representative event of the festival is Eobang Nori that has been designated as an important intangible cultural asset. Since there are diverse programs that men and women of all ages can enjoy, the festival is extremely popular for family visitors. The festival is totally free for all visitors.

This year, the festival takes place from October 14 to 16. During the festival, visitors can experience about 20 displays and programs such as catching live fish and making traditional kites in a traditional village with characters of the naval force, fishermen, and Korean geisha. On October 14, a drone light show will take place on the beach at 6 p.m. From October 15 to 16, there will be a special concert inside of the traditional village and Eobang fishing net pulling where about 1000 tourists can pull a net to catch live fish together on the beach.