The 72nd Baekje Cultural Festival Opens, Gongju and Buyeo Enter a 9-Day Celebration

The 72nd Baekje Cultural Festival simultaneously opened on the 3rd in Gongju and Buyeo, featuring a variety of events over nine days. This year’s Baekje Cultural Festival runs until the 11th with the theme ″Bronze Mirror, Reflecting 1,500 Years of Baekje’s Light″ in Gongju and ″Beautiful Baekje, Shining Sabi″ in Buyeo. The opening ceremony held at the main stage of Jeongnimsaji in Buyeo was attended by key figures including Lee Yong-woo, Buyeo County Governor; Park Soo-hyun, Governor of Chungnam Province; Baek Yong-dal, Chairman of Buyeo County Council; Yoon Yong-geun, Member of the National Assembly; and Park Jung-hyun, Chairman of the Local Era Committee, along with tourists. The ceremony featured the Sabi Relocation Parade, Sabi Jeongdo Ritual, themed performances, congratulatory performances, and a drone art show. In his opening remarks, Buyeo County Governor Lee Yong-woo said, ″I hope this event will be an opportunity to confirm the pride of moving toward Buyeo’s future by adding today’s light to the brilliant cultural heritage of Sabi Baekje.″ He added, ″I hope everyone will feel the timeless elegance and dignity of Baekje throughout the five-story stone pagoda at Jeongnimsaji and various places in the Sabi city area, and that this Baekje Cultural Festival will remain a beautiful memory shining in everyone’s hearts for a long time.″ Governor Park Soo-hyun of Chungnam Province also stated that based on Baekje’s history and cultural heritage, the National Historical and Cultural Zone Promotion Institute will be established in Buyeo, and Chungnam Province will join forces to help Buyeo become a central hub encompassing the nine historical and cultural zones of the Korean Peninsula. During the festival in Buyeo, various programs such as rituals and Buddhist ceremonies, traditional folk performances, artist gatherings, international exchange performances, media art, exhibitions, and hands-on experiences will take place throughout the city, including Jeongnimsaji, Seoktap-ro, and the Gwanbuk-ri ruins. There will also be the Baekje Historical and Cultural Parade, Baekje Cultural Night Parade, Baekje Cultural Experience, and hot air balloon rides. Additionally, domestic and international cultural exchange performances, music concerts, traditional folk and martial arts performances, and rituals such as Gocheonje and Baekje King Festival will continue. In Gongju, the festival began with events such as Honbolchae-hwa, the Five Great Kings of Ungjin Baekje and Memorial Ceremony, Ungjin Fantasia, drone lighting show, and congratulatory performances held at Geumgang New Pavilion Park, Gongsanseong Fortress, and the royal city area. The opening ceremony was attended by distinguished guests including Choi Won-cheol, Mayor of Gongju, and Lee Beom-su, Chairman of the Gongju City Council, with a pre-ceremony performance by the Gongju City Choir and an opening performance. Mayor Choi Won-cheol said, ″The 72nd Baekje Cultural Festival has prepared a dignified program with Gongju’s unique colors, themed around the bronze mirror, a brilliant cultural heritage of Ungjin Baekje.″ He added, ″I hope everyone visiting the festival site will encounter the light of 1,500 years of Baekje and create unforgettable memories.″ Gongju’s representative program, ″Ungjin Fantasia,″ showcases the story of Baekje civilization and its maritime power using a national treasure bronze mirror excavated from King Muryeong’s tomb, large LED screens, and special stages. The newly introduced nighttime live performance at Gongsanseong, ″Border: The Night the Queen Crossed,″ was planned to commemorate the 1,500th anniversary of Queen Muryeong’s passing, expressing the queen’s posthumous journey using the actual space of Seongnam Village, media facade, and LED lighting. On the 4th, the ″Ungjinseong Parade,″ involving citizens and tourists, will proceed from Jungdong Intersection to Sanseong Market and Yeonmun Square. At Geumgang New Pavilion Park’s Mir Island and along the Geum River, a nighttime landscape will be created with 250 yellow sailboats and a large bronze mirror sculpture.