From Gimcheon's gimbap to Gumi's ramen to Gochang's watermelons and bokbunja. Quirky festivals built around local specialties and everyday foods are emerging as a new card for inland municipalities' tourism. But despite the surge in the number of local festivals, there is a lack of substance, and controversy over price gouging is fueling concerns about sustainability.
◇ Gimbap festival in Gimcheon born from an idea at "Gimbap Cheonguk"
According to local governments on the 8th, Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province held its first "Gimbap Festival" last year. Starting from an offbeat idea that tied the city name "Gimcheon" to the snack brand "Gimbap Cheonguk," the festival drew 100,000 people on the first day alone, far exceeding expectations. Gimcheon, a small city of 130,000 people, quickly drew nationwide attention. The second Gimbap Festival, set for the 25th to 26th this month, is expected to attract large numbers of foreign tourists as it coincides with the "gimbap challenge" craze from the Netflix animation "K-pop Demon Hunters."
Neighboring Gumi has also brought out "ramen." Gumi is home to the country's largest Nongshim ramen factory. The "Ramen Festival," launched in partnership with Nongshim in 2022, has grown in size each year and drew 170,000 people last year. Hands-on tastings of freshly fried ramen and a variety of recipes proved popular, increasing foot traffic from foreign visitors. Gochang in North Jeolla is also drawing tourists with its watermelon and bokbunja festival, and Inje in Gangwon with its dried pollack festival, both highlighting local specialties and seasonality.
These kinds of festivals are also having positive effects on local economies. According to Gimcheon, the average number of weekend tourists around the Jikjisa area nearly doubled after the Gimbap Festival, and local businesses such as restaurants and lodging regained vitality. The assessment is that festivals drive short-term inflows of tourists and sales growth, while in the long term positively influencing local brand value and the development of tourism infrastructure.
◇ Some festivals are shunned even by local residents due to poor preparation
Not every local festival does well. On May 2, the "2025 World Ramen Festival" held in Busan's Gijang County became a representative case of failure. Due to poor preparation and sloppy operations, it ended early without even completing its scheduled run. Contrary to the promotion that "you can taste more than 2,200 types of ramen from 15 countries," only seven types, including domestic products and Southeast Asian ramen, were displayed on site. They did not even properly provide hot water.
In addition, many local festivals continue to be plagued by price gouging, on top of infrastructure limits such as traffic and parking congestion. According to a recent report published by the Gyeonggi-do Agency for Market Revitalization, major tourist spots and festival sites such as Ulleungdo, Busan, and Jeju saw repeated cases of surging lodging fees, food prices, and transportation costs, and the No. 1 dissatisfaction factor in domestic travel was cited as "high prices at tourist destinations (45.1%)."
There is also criticism that quantitative expansion of festivals has weakened their substance. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the number of festivals in North Jeolla Province rose 74% from 50 in 2019 to 87 last year, but resident participation over the same period fell by nearly half, from 61.3% to 33.8%. The share of outside visitors also dropped from 56.6% in 2019 to 50.7% in 2023, and per-capita tourist spending fell 12.1%. As more events are shunned even by locals, concerns are being raised about so-called "zombie festivals."
Experts say pricing fixated on short-term revenue and insubstantial festival operations are factors that eat away at regional image and tourism competitiveness. Kim Min-cheol, head of the Gyeonggi-do Agency for Market Revitalization, said, "Price gouging is not a problem limited to specific businesses but a structural issue that determines the trust and competitiveness of the entire region," and added, "Institutional reforms and on-site responses must go hand in hand so that small business owners who operate in good faith do not suffer losses."