More than 10,000 foreign tourists visited the "2026 Jinju Namgang Yudeung (Lantern) Festival," which was held in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do from the 3rd to the 18th.

This year marks the first time the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival has been held as a "Global Festival" designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Jinju City announced that it has successfully achieved its target for attracting foreign tourists. The 75th Gaecheon Arts Festival and the "2026 Korea Drama Festival," which ran alongside the lantern festival from the 9th to the 18th, also concluded their schedules.

Held around the Namgang River and Jinjuseong Fortress under the theme of "River of History, Embracing Peace," the lantern festival attracted visitors from all over the world, including Asian countries such as Japan, China, and Taiwan, as well as Europe and South America.

Along the Namgang River, 165 sets of floating lanterns were installed, while about 1,200 land-based lanterns were exhibited at Jinjuseong Fortress, the Lantern Theme Park, and the Railroad Culture Park. A total of around 70,000 lights, including lanterns of various themes, illuminated the Namgang River and the downtown area.

On the opening day, about 1,200 participants, including six performance troupes and residents from 30 townships, neighborhoods, and districts (eup, myeon, and dong), took part in the "Eup, Myeon, and Dong Symbolic Lantern Street Parade." Participants expressed the unique characteristics of their respective regions using LED costumes and props.

Activities such as hanging wish lanterns, floating lanterns, making Hanji (traditional Korean paper) lanterns, experiencing LED Hanbok, and AI-based K-POP dance experiences were also held. Foreign tourists participated in the parade, lantern-making, and Hanbok experiences, and interest continued online as domestic and international visitors shared photos and videos of the festival site on social media.

At the 75th Gaecheon Arts Festival, which began in 1949, 56 events including art competitions, performances, and exhibitions were held. The scope of participation in the art competitions expanded beyond Jinju to nationwide areas.

At the 2026 Korea Drama Festival, the 17th Korea Drama Awards, KDF Concert, and drama exhibition and experience programs took place. Twenty actors, artists, and influencers from 11 countries participated, and short-form dramas utilizing generative AI were also introduced.

At the 17th Korea Drama Awards held on the 10th, Park Hae-soo won the Grand Prize (Daesang), and the Best Picture award went to the drama Everyone is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness. The awards ceremony also highlighted the acting achievements of both rookie and established actors.

Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il said, "I sincerely thank the numerous visitors and more than 10,000 foreign tourists who visited Jinju in the first year of our global festival designation," adding, "Just like the message of peace carried by the lanterns floating on the Namgang River, we will strive to help Jinju leap forward into a global cultural city that communicates with the world through culture."

Jinju City and KTL Discuss Cooperation on Space Environment Testing Facility Construction and Business Attraction

Gyeongsangnam-do Jinju City announced on the 19th that Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il met with Kim Sun-gi, the newly appointed president of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KIT / KTL), to seek ways for mutual development and cooperation.

Jinju City and KTL have built a cooperative system in the aerospace sector. Following the successful launch of "JINJUSat-1B," the nation's first ultra-small satellite by a local government, the two organizations are pushing forward with the development project for the successor satellite, "JINJUSat-2."

During the meeting, Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il and KTL President Kim Sun-gi reviewed cooperation projects related to Jinju City's initiative to "build an aerospace industry ecosystem" and shared the intent to strengthen cooperation moving forward.

In particular, in-depth discussions were held on ways to smoothly promote the construction project for the "Space Environment Testing Facility," a core infrastructure of the satellite specialized district. To be built in the Jinju district of the Gyeongnam Aviation National Industrial Complex, the space environment testing facility will be established by expanding and relocating the existing KTL Space Parts Testing Center, and is scheduled to serve as a testing and evaluation hub for space-grade parts and satellites in response to the upcoming "New Space" era.

Jinju City and KTL plan to continuously discover and promote various cooperative tasks to revitalize local strategic industries, including attracting aerospace companies, fostering professional talent, and supporting testing and certification.

Jinju Tourism Character 'Hamo' Featured in Elementary School Art Textbooks

Jinju City's tourism character "Hamo" has been featured in elementary school art textbooks. Jinju City announced on the 19th that Hamo was introduced in Unit 9, "Designing for Animal Friends," of the 3rd and 4th-grade elementary school art textbook published by Chunjae Textbook Co., Ltd.

Hamo was featured as a reference case for the activity "Drawing Endangered Animal Characters You Want to Protect." In the textbook, Hamo is introduced as the "Jinju City Tourism Character," and its main features, such as the Jinju necklace, whiskers, hands, and legs, are also explained. Students are guided to observe this and creatively express their own animal characters.

This inclusion is significant in that a tourism character embodying the region's nature and characteristics is utilized as educational material in schools. It is expected to serve as an opportunity for children to think about the importance of endangered animals and environmental protection using Hamo, which is inspired by an otter, and to naturally get to know Jinju.

Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il said, "With Hamo being introduced in art textbooks, a meaningful opportunity has been prepared to introduce Jinju to children," adding, "Next year, we will host the 'Republic of Korea Character Festa' to create a venue for performances, exhibitions, and experiences where Hamo, Ayo, and public characters from all over the country come together to further promote Jinju's culture and tourism resources."

Meanwhile, Jinju City signed a business agreement with the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) on the 7th for "joint production of character contents and local win-win cooperation." Under the agreement, Jinju City tourism characters "Hamo" and "Hamo Friends Ayo" will appear in animations alongside EBS characters and promote the charm of Jinju through the EBS YouTube channel.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]