Where Heaven Meets Earth: The Breathtaking Horizon Festival in Gimje, South Korea

▲ Gimje is the only city in South Korea where the horizon is visible. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)

Reporter Chen Tzu-yin / Reporting from South Korea

While Taiwan’s western plains are vast, making the horizon a common sight, in South Korea, Gimje in North Jeolla Province is the only place nationwide where you can see the horizon. Each year, Gimje hosts the “Horizon Festival” to celebrate this unique natural beauty. This year (2013), the festival was even selected as one of the “Representative Festivals of the Republic of Korea,” becoming a beloved event among locals.

As soon as you drive into the streets of Gimje, you’ll be drawn to the pink and purple cosmos flowers. There’s also a flower-lined road stretching 400 ri (200 kilometers), resembling a landscape painting against the backdrop of golden plains that makes you want to pause and admire. The vast plains behind the cosmos flowers are South Korea’s largest granary, producing rice to feed the entire nation. This place is not only where heaven meets earth but also a locale filled with the emotional resonance of rice farming culture.

 

▲%Photographed% cosmos flowers in full bloom, with the longest flower path stretching 400 li. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)
▲ Cosmos flowers are seen throughout Gimje, with the longest flower road extending 400 ri. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)

The 15th Gimje Horizon Festival, which concluded last month, has been held annually at the Biji Reservoir area, once the tallest and largest reservoir in East Asia. The festival features a total of seven major programs and 67 events. For example, the “Rice Village Stone Pulling Tug-of-War” involves up to 100 men and women from the village tying ropes and competing in street-side tug-of-war contests. Legend says that the women must win for a bountiful rice harvest that year. Another event, the “Biji Reservoir Legend Twin Dragons Game,” is based on a local tale where the green dragon frequently damaged the ancient reservoir, while the white dragon fought to protect it—sparking a battle between the two dragons. For the festival, organizers built twin dragons standing 15 meters tall and 54 meters long. During the event, visitors are divided into green dragon and white dragon teams, carrying the dragons along different routes through the park before gathering at the main twin dragons stage.

 
▲ The Horizon Festival offers diverse activities, including children wearing straw raincoats to cross water channels, experiencing the hardships of farmers. (Photo / Left provided by the organizer, right by Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)


▲ The “Twin Dragons Game” involves 200 people carrying the massive dragons, creating a lively and interactive experience. (Photo / Provided by the organizer)

The Gimje Horizon Festival grows more grand each year. Most notably, the highlight event, the “Torch Game,” broke a world record again this year.Last year, 2,042 participants set a world record for the torch event. This year, the number grew to 2,333. After a thousand people passed the flame, the torches were arranged to form the shape of “2013.” The atmosphere was both touching and awe-inspiring.



▲ %This year’s torch event had 2,333 participants, breaking the world record again. (Photo / Top provided by the organizer, bottom by Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)