9th Hwaseong Gungpyeong Port Abundant Catch Festival to be Held on 29th-30th

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] The '9th Hwaseong Gungpyeong Port Abundant Catch Festival' will be held over two days on the 29th and 30th at Gungpyeong Port Square.

Hosted by Hwaseong City and organized by the Hwaseong Cultural Center, the Gungpyeong Port Abundant Catch Festival Promotion Committee, and the Gungpyeong Port Abundant Catch Festival Preservation Association, this event is a Poongeogut (traditional Korean shaman ritual) that began in 2011 when the Gungpyeong Port Fleet Council and Gyeonggi Southern Fisheries Cooperative initiated it to commemorate fishing village traditional culture. The festival continues the tradition of village boat offerings that had been individually conducted by fishermen in the western region of Hwaseong City.

On the 29th, the first day of the festival, events including the raising of blessing bamboo to mark the beginning of the ritual, the jangseung (traditional totem pole) ceremony, greeting the tutelary spirit of the village, and sekyeong-doli will take place. On the 30th, the second day, events such as the chilseok-geori (seventh night celebration) to wish for blessings, sharing of fortune rice cakes, the yeongjeong-geori to dispel illness and misfortune, the jildu-geori, and the dwit-jeon-geori will unfold.

Meanwhile, the Gungpyeong Port Abundant Catch Festival has traditionally been held in April on an auspicious date each year. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, it was not held, and this year it will be conducted in October with the meaning of expressing gratitude for safely conducting fishing activities and praying for greater abundance and safety in the future.

Hwaseong City Mayor Jung Myung-geun stated, "Through the Hwaseong Gungpyeong Port Abundant Catch Festival, we will support the traditional regional culture preserved by fishermen in Hwaseong to develop further as a festival that all Hwaseong citizens can share together."