Yongin City Opens Baekjung Cultural Festival... "Preserving Baekam Traditions and Advancing Regional Development"

A Variety of Traditional Performances and Song Festivals Through September 13
Mayor Lee Sangil Presents Vision for Baekam’s Development
"Addressing Traffic Inconveniences and Expanding Living Infrastructure"
"Channeling the Achievements of

The 11th Baekam Baekjung Cultural Festival, which aims to preserve the traditional culture of the Baekam area in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province and foster community harmony among residents, opened on the 11th at the Baekam-myeon Administrative Welfare Center in Cheoin-gu. The festival will run for three days, ending on the 13th.

Lee Sangil, mayor of Yongin Special City, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 11th Baekam Baekjung Cultural Festival on the 11th. Provided by Yongin City

Lee Sangil, Mayor of Yongin Special City, attended the opening ceremony that day and said, "The Baekam Baekjung Cultural Festival is a meaningful heritage where our ancestors, who worked hard in the fields, encouraged each other and wished for the well-being and prosperity of the village. I extend my deep gratitude to the residents and the members of the Preservation Committee who have faithfully upheld this tradition."

Mayor Lee also presented awards to two residents in recognition of their contributions to promoting the Baekjung Cultural Festival and preserving the region's traditional heritage.

He also introduced plans to address inconveniences caused by the establishment of the semiconductor cluster in the adjacent Wonsam-myeon and to promote growth in the Baekam area. Mayor Lee said, "In neighboring Wonsam-myeon, SK hynix is carrying out a semiconductor project with an investment of 600 trillion won. This has created various inconveniences for Baekam residents, including parking and traffic issues, and I will work to resolve these concerns one by one. If the project is successfully carried out and the city's fiscal capacity increases, we will invest even more in Baekam's development."

He added, "The Baekjung Cultural Festival is an important tradition where our ancestors encouraged each other's efforts in farming, strengthened their friendships, and wished for the well-being and prosperity of the village. I am grateful to the residents and the members of the Baekjung Cultural Preservation Committee for carrying on this tradition to the present day."

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin Special City, is greeting residents at the 11th Baekam Baekjung Cultural Festival on the 11th. Provided by Yongin City

Mayor Lee also announced plans to ensure the completion of the "Neulpumeun Hyangyu Center," a living convenience complex with facilities such as a public bath, as well as a swimming pool-style multi-purpose gymnasium at Baekam Elementary School. He also plans to develop Cheongmicheon into a waterfront space where residents can comfortably take walks and enjoy their leisure time.

Baekjung is a traditional custom during which farmers put aside their busy fieldwork around the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, sharing food and drinks and enjoying various folk games. In Baekam, residents have carried on the tradition of enjoying farmers' band music and ssireum (Korean wrestling) at the Baekam traditional five-day market, which was once famous nationwide for its large cattle market and rice trading.

To preserve these traditions, local residents formed the Baekam Baekjung Cultural Preservation Committee in 2011, and held the first edition of the festival on October 29 of that year.

On the first day of this year's festival, a traditional rite, a Pumba performance contest, a land demarcation performance, and a group singing contest were held. On the 12th, events such as Pangut (a traditional percussion performance), a resident self-governance performance, Baekam farming songs, performances by amateur artists, and a youth arts festival are scheduled. On the final day, the 13th, there will be a resident self-governance performance, a Korean pop and traditional music festival, and the Baekjung Song Festival.

Yongin Special City held the 11th Baekam Baekjung Cultural Festival on the 11th. The photo shows a land demarcation performance. Provided by Yongin City.

Mayor Lee said, "I hope everyone will enjoy the diverse programs of the Baekjung Cultural Festival over the next three days, and that this festival will become a driving force for Baekam's development. The city will continue to support the Baekjung Cultural Festival so that it can further develop and continue to preserve Baekam's important traditions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.