The "Fire Festival," which will light up Jeju's night sky, will open on the 9th. During the festival, in addition to various folk games and hands-on programs, there will be an event to tour the area around Saebyeol Oreum, one of Jeju's representative oreums. The massive flames that once filled the oreum will no longer be seen, but the void will be filled with "lights" using digital technology such as light-emitting diodes (LED).
Jeju City said on the 5th it will hold the "Jeju Fire Festival" around Saebyeol Oreum from the 9th to the 14th.
The festival consists of pre-events from the 9th to the 12th and the main events on the 13th to the 14th. The pre-events focus on participatory programs that heighten the mood ahead of the festival. Participants will write and hang wish slips and build a large daljip. There will also be an oreum docent program to explore the history and nature of Saebyeol Oreum, one of Jeju's representative oreums where the festival takes place, with a cultural tourism interpreter.
The main festival begins on the 13th. On opening day, starting at 10 a.m., the Hope Fire lighting rite will be followed by a wish-offering ritual, the Jeju family feast "Jikkeojin banquet table," "Jeju People" featuring participation by Jeju citizens, and preliminaries for the Jeju citizens' singing contest.
There will also be Jeju folk games, including horseback riding, a horse-feeding experience, preliminaries for township tug-of-war, and competitions for jipjulleokgi and deumdolneokgi. From 11 a.m., oreum trekking and concerts atop the oreum will run through three sessions, and from 5 p.m., there will be trekking to enjoy the sunset.
At 7 p.m. on opening day, the official opening event, "Fire, journey of hope," will begin. To highlight the festival's identity, the Hope Fire enshrinement and daljip burning will take place. Then Kim Yong-bin, the jin (top winner) of Mister Trot 3, will take the stage to lift the atmosphere. The concert will run until 9 p.m.
The Fire Festival is Jeju's representative cultural tourism event that recreates the pastoral culture of setting fires by village to graze livestock. In Jeju, before spring arrived, there was a custom called "bangae (setting field fires)" of burning ranches or fields to eliminate pests. The sight of the entire oreum burning was spectacular, and it was the highlight of the festival.
However, after a deliberative roundtable in 2023, it was decided to stop setting fires. The decision reflected concerns that fires could increase carbon emissions and cause wildfires.
In response, lights will replace the wildfires. On the 14th, the city will introduce additional media facade equipment to present large-scale media art covering Saebyeol Oreum. It also plans to minimize carbon emissions with eco-friendly fireworks and light-emitting diode (LED) torches. The plan is to stage a "digital Fire Festival" using light and illumination.
During the main festival on the 13th and 14th, many events will require advance registration. It is advisable to apply in advance for the Jeju family feast and Jikkeojin family banquet table, the torch parade, the "Hope Delivery Post Office," the singing contest, the environmental drawing contest, and trekking.
In addition, the "Jeju personal wish pouch," an emotional experience decorating your own wish pouch with a lucky rice scoop motif, the "snack-making experience" to make treats for companion animals, "mini daljip making," and "wish keyring making" can be joined on site.
Food trucks selling various foods will be set up near the venue. About 10 vendors offering a variety of foods will be assembled. They will be vendors that have completed the city's pre-screening before the festival, with plans to reduce price gouging and hygiene concerns.
Jeju Mayor Kim Wan-geun said, "A new attempt that combines tradition and digital is an important test bed to be evaluated by citizens," adding, "We will strictly adhere to basics such as price transparency and hygiene and safety, and create a festival people will want to return to with differentiated content that brings out local characteristics."