The only place in all of Korea where you can see the horizon！ The Gimje Horizon Festival kicks off in October

Travel Center / General Report




▲ The Gimje Horizon Festival is held annually at the “Bikgudae,” the largest and oldest water conservancy facility in East Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Photo / Provided by the organizers)



Now in its 16th year, the Gimje Horizon Festival was selected by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the “Best Festival” for eight consecutive years from 2004 to 2012, and was honored as the “Representative Festival of the Republic of Korea” in 2014. This year’s festival, themed “Welcome to the Meeting of Heaven and Earth, Gimje,” will be held for five consecutive days starting October 1, 2014, centered around the “Bikgudae,” the largest and oldest water conservancy facility in East Asia, which has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage list and preserves Korea’s agricultural history and traditions.

The highlight of the festival is the “Bikgudae Torch Game Illuminating the Horizon” held at night. To recreate the battle between the white dragon and the green dragon during the construction of Bikgudae, the sight of everyone holding torches is truly spectacular. The “Straw Raincoat Water Tunnel” allows both adults and children to make traditional straw raincoats, then wear wooden clogs and straw raincoats with conical hats to experience rainy-day scenes of the past. Other activities include farming cultural experiences (like catching grasshoppers, horizon ox-cart rides...), traditional cultural and artistic performances (such as horizon scarecrow shows, kite-making and flying competitions, and the Bikgudae ritual), and horizon rice-themed events (like global food culture festivals, field dining, and horizon food celebrations).