Over 10,000 foreign tourists visited the "2026 Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival," held in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do from the 3rd to the 18th. This year marks the first time the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival was held as a "Global Festival" designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Jinju City announced that it has successfully achieved its foreign tourist attraction goal.

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

A total of 165 sets of floating lanterns were installed on the Namgang River, while around 1,200 land lanterns were displayed at Jinjuseong Fortress, Yudeung Theme Park, and Railway Culture Park. Including various themed lanterns, 7,000 lights illuminated the Namgang River and the downtown area. On the opening day, about 1,200 people, including 6 performance groups and residents from 30 eup, myeon, and dong districts, participated in the "Eup, Myeon, Dong Symbolic Lantern Street Parade." Participants expressed the unique characteristics of each region using LED costumes and accessories. 

Activities such as hanging wish lanterns, floating lanterns, making Hanji lanterns, LED Hanbok experiences, and AI-based K-POP dance experiences were also held. Foreign tourists participated in the parade, lantern making, and Hanbok experiences, while domestic and international visitors shared photos and videos of the festival site on social media, maintaining interest online. The 75th Gaecheon Arts Festival, which began in 1949, featured 56 events including art competitions, performances, and exhibitions. 

The scope of participation in the art competitions expanded beyond Jinju to regions nationwide. The 2026 Korea Drama Festival featured the 17th Korea Drama Awards, the KDF Concert, and drama exhibition/experience programs. 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 received the Grand Prize, and the Best Picture award went to the drama Fighting Against Everyone's Worthlessness. 

The awards ceremony also highlighted the acting achievements of both rookie and veteran actors. Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il said, "I sincerely thank the countless visitors and over 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 set afloat on the Namgang River, we will strive for Jinju to take a leap forward as a global cultural city that communicates with the world through culture."

◇ Jinju City and KTL Discuss Cooperation on Building Space Environment Testing

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

Jinju City and KTL have built a cooperative system in the aerospace field. Following the successful launch of "JINJUSat-1B," the nation's first ultra-small satellite by a local government, the two agencies are pursuing the development project for the successor satellite, "Jinju Sat-2." During the meeting, Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il and KTL President Kim Sun-gi reviewed cooperative projects related to Jinju City's "aerospace industry ecosystem creation" and shared the intent to strengthen cooperation moving forward. In particular, they held in-depth discussions on ways to smoothly promote the construction project of the "Space Environment Testing Facility," a core infrastructure of the satellite-specialized district. 

The Space Environment Testing Facility, to be built in the Jinju district of the Gyeongnam Aviation National Industrial Complex, 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 "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, nurturing specialized talent, and supporting testing and certification.

◇ Jinju Tourism Character "Hamo" Included in Elementary School Art Textbook Jinju

City's tourism character "Hamo" has been included in an elementary school art textbook. 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 included as a reference case for the activity "Drawing Endangered Animal Characters You Want to Protect." In the textbook, Hamo is introduced as the "Jinju Tourism Character," and key features such as its pearl necklace, whiskers, hands, and feet are also explained. Students are guided to creatively express their own animal characters while observing this.

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

Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il said, "With Hamo being introduced in the art textbook, a meaningful opportunity has been prepared to make Jinju known to children," and added, "Next year, we will host the 'Republic of Korea Character Festa' to provide a venue for performances, exhibitions, and experiences where Hamo, Ayo, and public characters nationwide come together to further promote Jinju's culture and tourism resources." 

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

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]