Hitejinro(000080) strengthened its experiential marketing at this year's Jeonju Gamek Festival by highlighting same-day-brewed beer and regional coexistence. This year, it expanded the scale and linked the festival with local gamek pubs and nearby commercial districts, turning it into a platform to boost the local economy. Gamek (store beer) is a term that captures a culture of enjoying beer with side dishes in a more modest setting than general restaurants or beer halls.
On the 7th at Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, North Jeolla, at the 2026 Jeonju Gamek Festival site. There, tastings were held for "same-day-brewed Terra," "Terra Zero" produced at the Jeonju plant, and "Terra Sparkling," released on the 3rd. Marking its 10th year, the event ran from the 6th to the 8th.
This year, seating was increased from 5,000 to 7,000. Kim Ji-hoon, Hitejinro special sales Jeonju branch manager, said, "Same-day-brewed beer is in a state where carbonation and refreshment are maximized," adding, "You can feel the difference when you taste it yourself."
The volume prepared this year for the three days was about 3,000 cases (about 60,000 bottles). Kim explained, "Normally, people drink beer that has been distributed for a certain period after production, but same-day-brewed beer is content you can experience only here." The number of visitors who came to the site during this year's event period was counted at about 126,000. Some said even the heat wave could not dampen the fervor of Jeonju's gamek festival.
Hitejinro focused on expanding this year's festival into a regional coexistence event beyond beer sales. In collaboration with the Jeonbuk National University merchants' association, it designated 60 nearby stores as official partner venues and offered discounts and extra benefits. Ten representative gamek pubs and 10 general pubs took part at the venue. For the first time, takeout sales were offered outside the venue so people could buy same-day-brewed Terra.
Manager Kim said, "We had many internal discussions about whether it was right to hold the festival due to the recent heat wave," adding, "But we decided to go ahead because the Jeonju Gamek Festival is not just Hitejinro's event; it's a festival that grows together with the local commercial district."
In fact, Jeonun Gamek, which has participated in the festival for 10 consecutive years since the first event in 2015, was feeling the festival's impact. Yoon Suk-hee, head of Jeonun Gamek, said, "As the festival grows and promotion continues, the sales effect is also increasing," adding, "In the past, it was centered on younger people, but now there are more family groups as well as tourists from other regions and foreign visitors."
Yoon added, "People usually think of bibimbap when they think of Jeonju, but gamek is also a culture that represents Jeonju," saying, "I hope the Gamek Festival grows into a festival that everyone nationwide wants to visit at least once and becomes an opportunity to widely promote the gamek culture."
Upon entering the venue, the first thing that stood out was the long line to get beer. On Friday evening, office workers off work and college students sat around tables with same-day-brewed Terra in hand, pairing it with Jeonju's representative gamek side dishes such as cuttlefish, stir-fried spicy pork, and rolled omelet. Performances and events continued on the stage.
All around the festival were "Gamek-keepers" in green uniforms. The Gamek-keepers are a volunteer group of about 300 local college students who handle overall event operations.
Manager Kim said, "The Gamek-keepers are a culture unique to Jeonju that is hard to find elsewhere," adding, "About 2,500 college students have participated so far, and they are so important that it would be difficult to run the festival without them." Kim continued, "The younger generation having affection for the region and creating the festival themselves is the Jeonju Gamek Festival's competitive edge," emphasizing, "Hitejinro's promotion is important, but the bigger goal is to help the local economy and self-employed business owners."