[Feature] From Chuseok Gifts to the Yeongsangang Festival... Naju's Abundant Autumn

Targeting Holiday Gift Demand with 'Cheonnyeonieum Naju Pears'

Yeongsangang Festival and Naju Agriculture Festa Held Together from October 7 to 11

Musical, Drone Show... 16 Million Won in Total Prizes for Short-Form Video Contest

Ahead of Chuseok, Naju is showcasing its signature local specialty, the Naju pear, and after the holiday, the city will host a large-scale autumn festival set against the backdrop of the Yeongsangang River. A wide range of programs will be prepared, encompassing premium Naju pears cultivated under strict quality control, a creative musical reflecting on Naju’s history, spectacular drone and fireworks displays lighting up the night sky over Yeongsangang, and hands-on farmer experiences for the whole family—all spotlighting Naju's history, culture, and agriculture.

As a congratulatory performance for the opening of the "2026 Naju Yeongsangang Festival," trot singer Ji-Hyun Park and musical actress Ji-Min Hong are expected to take the stage to enhance the festival's excitement. The photo shows popular trot singer Ji-Hyun Park adorning the closing ceremony stage of the "2025 Naju Yeongsangang Festival" last year. Provided by Naju City

'Cheonnyeonieum Naju Pears' Offered as Chuseok Gifts

Naju City, Jeonnam-Gwangju Metropolitan Autonomous City, is selling the premium brand 'Cheonnyeonieum Naju Pears,' which are guaranteed under the Naju Mayor’s Quality Assurance System, through its official online shopping site 'Najumall' and other platforms for the Chuseok holiday season.

‘Cheonnyeonieum Naju Pear’ is a brand developed by Naju City to carry on the legacy of Naju pears with a thousand-year tradition, offering consumers a high-quality pear they can trust and choose with confidence.

The city applies strict production and shipment standards based on its quality assurance system, allowing only farms that meet these standards to participate in producing and selling pears under the brand name.

Premium 'Millennium Connection Naju Pears' Guaranteed for Quality by Naju City, Provided by Naju City

Quality control begins at the cultivation stage. The participating farms receive onsite technical guidance, cultivation management, and consultation on fruit maturity so that the fruits' growth can be monitored and the optimal harvest time determined.

‘Cheonnyeonieum Naju Pears’ are produced without growth regulators, and only those pears that pass non-destructive sugar content sorting—the ones with a sugar content of at least 12 Brix—are shipped for sale.

The Naju Agricultural Cooperative Corporation is also strengthening quality management from the production phase by engaging in contract farming with the growers. Rigorous distribution management continues through sorting, packaging, storage, and sales after harvest.

Naju City plans to use this Chuseok season as an opportunity to promote the taste, quality, and brand value of ‘Cheonnyeonieum Naju Pears’ to consumers nationwide, while also expanding demand for local agricultural products to support stable sales channels and income increases for farmers.

Autumn Nights on the Yeongsangang River Begin with ‘The Queen, Janghwa’

After Chuseok, in October, a festival will be held that brings together Naju’s history and the autumn nights of the Yeongsangang River in one place.

From October 7 to 11, Naju City will host the 2026 Naju Yeongsangang Festival for five days at the Yeongsangang Garden and surrounding area. The opening ceremony on October 7 will feature the thematic performance ‘The Queen, Janghwa,’ followed by a drone light show, fireworks display, and congratulatory performances by popular singers in a large nighttime gala.

‘The Queen, Janghwa’ is a creative musical fully revamped from its debut at last year’s Yeongsangang Festival. Inspired by the story of Queen Janghwa Oh—originally from Naju—and the founder of Goryeo, King Taejo Wang Geon, the performance adds modern music and directing to the city’s rich history.

The "2026 Naju Yeongsangang Festival," which will be held from October 7, is set to start its grand opening with the theme performance "Queen, Janghwa." The photo shows last year's theme performance "Queen, Janghwa" at the 2025 Naju Yeongsangang Festival. Photo by Naju City

This year, the performance retains the strengths confirmed in last year’s show, but has been newly refined in terms of storyline, character emotions, music, and stage direction. The natural landscape of Yeongsangang and the unique features of the outdoor stage will be actively leveraged to enhance the scale and immersion of the show.

The role of Queen Janghwa will be played by the musical actress Luna, while musical actor Lee Choongju will take on the role of Wang Geon. The two will portray the encounter between Queen Janghwa and Wang Geon and the start of a new chapter in history through both music and acting.

After the main performance, a drone light show will illuminate the night sky above the Yeongsangang River. The drones will fly in sync with music, visualizing the history of Yeongsangang and Naju, iconic scenes from ‘The Queen, Janghwa,’ and Naju’s future vision with light.

Following the drone show, a fireworks display will take place along the riverbanks and gardens, enhanced by nighttime lighting to elevate the festival’s opening atmosphere. For the opening congratulatory performance, trot singer Jihyun Park and musical actress Jimin Hong will take to the stage. Jihyun Park will captivate the audience with her powerhouse vocals and energetic performance, while Jimin Hong will showcase her explosive singing and dynamic stage presence.

From Yeongsangang Culture and History to Cuisine and Experiences

On the festival’s opening day, a variety of ongoing programs will be available throughout the Yeongsangang Garden area. In addition to performances, visitors can enjoy the ‘Naju Agriculture Festa,’ the ‘Yeongsangang Family Garden Festival,’ as well as themed and culinary pavilions, exhibition and experience booths, flea markets, and food trucks.

The container-style ‘Yeongsangang Pavilion,’ introduced for the first time this year, will showcase the Yeongsangang River’s culture, history, ecology, and future, with content organized by theme. The festival venue will also feature large installations, such as a giant moon, paper boat sculptures, and character displays representing Naju’s famous skate fish, providing photo zones to enjoy both day and night.

Expecting large crowds on the day of the opening ceremony, Naju City will strengthen safety management on main access roads, in parking lots, and around the performance venues. Comprehensive guidance will be provided for visitor movement and traffic flows.

This year, three direct shuttle bus routes will be operated, connecting the old downtown, Yeongsanpo, and Bitgaram Innovation City. Each route will have dedicated stops: Naju City Hall for the old downtown, Yeongsanpo Dunchi Sports Park for the Yeongsanpo route, and in front of KEPCO KDN for Bitgaram Innovation City. The shuttle buses will run express from each stop to the festival grounds without intermediate stops. Visitors traveling by car can park near the designated stops in each area and use the direct shuttles to reach the festival.

Detailed bus schedules and intervals will be announced through Naju City’s website, official social media channels, and festival promotional materials.

Threshing Rice and Harvesting Homegrown Sweet Potatoes

The ‘2026 Naju Agriculture Festa’ will be held from October 7 to 11 at the same time as the Naju Yeongsangang Festival, at the Yeongsangang Garden area. This year, special programs such as the ‘Byorak(Fun) Farmer Experience’ and a hands-on sweet potato harvest have been prepared, allowing children and families to physically experience the value of agriculture and rural life.

During the ‘Byorak(Fun) Farmer Experience,’ visitors can thresh rice themselves and experience the rice milling process by removing husks with a traditional wooden pestle (maetong).

Other programs include decorating straw hats and exploring or scooping up freshly milled new-crop rice, giving children a chance to learn about farming and rice production through play. Advance reservations for the 2026 new crop of rice will also be available at the event site.

The ‘Byorak(Fun) Farmer Experience’ will be held daily during the festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with flexible participation throughout the day.

For the first time this year, there will also be a sweet potato harvesting experience where visitors can dig up crops grown through an authentic cultivation process.

The sweet potatoes used for this experience were planted by Naju City and the Naju Agriculture Festa Promotion Committee in June, raised for about four months in plant pots and burlap sacks. Unlike events where crops are merely buried before the experience, these sweet potatoes have been carefully tended through regular watering, mowing, use of weed mats, and supplemental nutrition.

The sweet potato harvest experience will take place four times daily during the festival—at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m.—with up to eight families able to participate per session. Families who purchase at least 30,000 won worth of specialty products at the Agriculture Festa venue will receive free admission to the experience.

During the festival period, various other programs will also be offered, such as agricultural exhibition and promotion, specialty sales, and rural experience activities, in addition to the farmer experience programs.

Promoting the Festival’s Appeal through Short-Form Videos

Naju City will also hold the ‘2026 Naju Yeongsangang Festival Promotional Short-Form & Creator Contest,’ featuring a total prize pool of 16 million won, centered on the Yeongsangang Festival.

The submission period runs until October 21. The contest features two categories: ‘Festival Promotional Videos’ and ‘Festival Review Videos.’ Entries for the promotional video category should freely highlight the festival’s main programs and attractions, expressing the appeal of the Yeongsangang Festival with creative content before and during the event.

Festival review videos should be shot onsite and depict the festival’s atmosphere, programs, and experiences from the participants’ perspective.

There are no restrictions on format or genre—variety, parody, challenges, documentaries, animations, music videos, and more are all welcome. Any Korean citizen can participate individually or as a team.

For festival promotional videos, seven entries will be selected, including a grand prize award of 4 million won. For festival review videos, a grand prize of 3 million won and up to 14 awardees including finalists will be chosen.

Entries that naturally incorporate ‘Naju 1 Night 2 Benefits,’ the city’s policy supporting overnight stays in Naju, will receive extra points during judging.

Those wishing to participate can check detailed guidelines on the official Naju City website, publish a video containing the ‘2026 Visit Naju Year’ logo with the required hashtags on their social networks, and submit their entries via Naver Form.

Earlier this year, Naju City’s ‘2026 Visit Naju Year Promotional Short-Form & Creator Contest’ drew participation from 108 teams, achieving a cumulative 3.5 million views for submitted entries.

The city plans to use this contest to raise excitement for the festival with diverse creator perspectives beforehand, and to further expand online promotional reach during and after the event by encouraging onsite review content.

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