Great Baekje World Festival Aims at Evolving into Global Event

The 2010 Great Baekje World Festival will open on Sept. 18 in Gongju and Buyeo

The 2010 Great Baekje World Festival will be held in Gongju City and Buyeo County in Chungcheongnam-do for a 30-day run from Sept. 18 through Oct. 17 under the theme “Revival of Great Baekje 1,400 Years Later.” Following are excerpts of a written interview between NewsWorld and Lee Sung-woo, secretary general of the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival Organizing Committee, who touched on its preparations to make the festival a success and other plans.
Question: Will you introduce the background and chronology of the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival?
Answer: The Great Baekje World Festival dates back to 1955 when Buyeo area community leaders offered a ritual service to the top three loyal subjects ― Sung Chung, Heung Soo and Gyaebek ― as well as a ritual to comfort the souls of Baekje women who threw themselves to their deaths off the Nakwha Rock into the Baekma River in the presence of invading enemies during the late period of the Baekje Kingdom.
The Samchungsa, an altar for offering a ritual service for the three loyal subjects, was built in 1957. The right to host the festival was handed over to the Chungcheongnam-do provincial government in 1965, and the 12th festival began to take place simultaneously in Gongju and Buyeo in 1975.














Gongju and Buyeo began to alternate the hosting duties of the festival biennially beginning in 1979, the 25th year of the event. Since the 1980s, the festival has evolved into one of Korea’s representative regional historical and cultural events. In 2007, Gongju and Buyeo began to co-host the festival, thus building a foundation for evolving into a world-class historical and cultural event.
The festival has now changed its name to the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival, reflecting the standing of the 56-year-old international festival.
We’re devoting ourselves to making the festival a full-fledged global fest by reestablishing historical facts of the Baekje Kingdom that remain hidden in history and shedding new light on the glorious cultural heritage of the kingdom.
Q: Will you explain the theme and the schedule of the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival?
A: The 2010 Great Baekje World Festival is scheduled to take place in Gongju City and Buyeo County in Chungcheongnam-do for a 30-day run from Sept. 18 through Oct. 17 under the theme, “Revival of Great Baekje 1,400 Years Later.”
The festival can be summed up as a fest designed to reenact Baekje’s most excellent cultural heritage and artistic spirit as one of Korea’s ancient kingdoms.
The festival will not just offer a variety of programs under the theme “Baekje” and others indicating a linkage between Hanseong ― the ancient capital of the nation ― and Baekje, it will also highlight the picture of an international fest in which people from Korea and other parts of the world get together.
Our organizing committee is throwing its heart and soul into presenting the quintessence of Baekje, once remembered only for the history of its loss.
Q: Will you introduce to us the official ceremonies and events of the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival?
A: Official ceremonies ― opening and closing ceremonies ― will take place.
An opening ceremony will be held on Sept. 17 at the Sabi Palace within the Baekje Cultural Complex, which is to be dedicated on the day in 16 years. In particular, for the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival, which will be held in conjunction with the Hanseong-Baekje Cultural Festival, a flame will be lit in Songpa-gu in Seoul, Gongju City and Buyeo County ― all old Baekje areas ― in order to revive the spirit of Baekje.
A closing ceremony will take place at the Gomanaru Art Yard as the finale of the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival.
On-the-water performances, the main programs of the festival, will present mystical storylines with the Geum and Baekma rivers as the backdrop, the essence of Baekje cultural heritage.
The on-the-water performance “Sama Iyagi (story)” will be staged at Gomanaru Ferry in Gongju from Sept. 18 through Oct. 2. It is a story about Baekje’s rise under Sama (King Muryeong) as a maritime superpower and the expansion of its territory. The performance will be a wondrous one with seven layers of stage space with the Geum River as its backdrop, large-scale military dancing, action and special effects.
The on-the-water performance “Sabimir” will be staged at Nakhwa rock in Buyeo from Sept. 27 through Oct. 11. The performance will reenact the beauty of Baekje culture in the modern edition of Baekje surpassing historical repetitions, exciting epic stories and spectacular attractions. About 200 specialized actors and actresses will perform with the scenic Baekma river as the background along with such special effects as new media art.
There are enough good programs to match everybody’s expectations. They include the “A Day in Sabigung Palace” program, which will take place at the Baekje palace in Buyeo; the “A Day in Ungjinseong Fortress” program, which will reenact the Baekje lifestyle; the “Parade Trade Giant Great Baekje,” a parade describing the prosperity and peace of Great Baekje; the “Great Baekje Mounted Military Corps Parade,” employing 123 horses and 100 solders to demonstrate the Baekje people’s vigorous bravery; and the reenactment of the “Hwangsanbeol Battle,” a historic battle pitting 5,000 Baekje solders against 50,000 Shilla troopers.
A total of 90 programs, small and big, including 22 main programs, will be staged in Buyeo County and Gongju City during the one-month run.
Q: Will you elaborate on preparations to make the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival a success and marketing strategies to promote it?
A: We will pour 24 billion won into reenacting the dreams and culture of Baekje, boasting Asia’s prime culture and arts with the goal of attracting some 2.6 million spectators. The construction of ancient palaces and venues of the festivals are 95 percent complete, and detailed plans, including scenarios of main programs, are being established.
The Chungcheongnam-do provincial, Gongju City and Buyeo County governments and other related organizations have plans for the seamless operation of the festival in place so that not one accident will take place and the spectators’ safety and convenience will be ensured.
Our organizing committee is employing public relations strategies tailored to meet the diverse needs of prospective spectators ― students, the general public and foreigners.
Tourism explanation sessions targeting Japanese and Chinese media people and tour agency officials will be held, while diverse publicity activities will be conducted via overseas diplomatic missions, KTO’s overseas branches and overseas offices of local governments.
Thirty-eight celebrities from countries including Japan, the United States, France, Germany, Italy and Russia, have been designated as honorary ambassadors of the festival. Korean-born New York Yankees pitcher Park Chan-ho as well as 15 Korean celebrities including actor Chung Joon-ho are also active honorary ambassadors.
Q: Will you specify tourism products related to the promotion of the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival?
A: During the festival period, tourists will watch 22 mega programs including on-the-water performances and mammoth parades and have the opportunity to view historical relics in Gongju, Buyeo and other areas including Seosansamjon Maaesamjonbul (Buddhist statues) in their nearby areas.
Festival ticket holders will be given free access to such tourist attractions as temples, recreational forest sites and museums in the province.
Q: Will you introduce our readers to some of the tourist resources in Gongju City and Buyeo County?
A: There are a plenty of tourist attractions reminiscent of the history of Baekje in these areas.
In Gongju City, there are the King Muryeong Tombs containing the remains of the 25th king of Baekje and his queen, the Gongsan Fortress used to protect the capital against invaders during the Ungjin era and Mt. Gyeryong, one of the nation’s scenic and fascinating mountains.
The discovery of the King Muryeong Tombs, with 2,906 historical relics of 108 kinds, including 12 treasures, served as a historic moment to vindicate the excellent caliber and the exact chronology of Baekje culture, arts and crafted products. The Gongsan Fortress was built to protect Gongju, the capital of Baekje, during the 64-year Ungjin Era (the reign of King Munju through King Seong). Visitors to the fortress can appreciate the changing of the guard ceremony of the Baekje era, the Ssangsu Pavilion, the Kwangbokru Tower and other attractions. Mt. Gyeryong, known as Jungak, a mid-sized jewel in the province during the Joseon Dynasty, has ancient time-honored temples, including Gap Temple and Donghak Temple.
To name some major attractions in Buyeo County, there are Nakhwa Rock, Gungnamgi pond and the Jeonglimsaji 5-story stone pagoda. Nakhwa Rock is a place known for burying the souls of 3,000 Baekje women who jumped to their deaths off a cliff when faced with an invading army. The Goran Temple has a mineral water spring famous as a place frequented by Baekje kings. There is also the hwangpodokbae ride, a traditional Korean style of boat ride, along the Baema River, which attracts many tourists. The Gungnamgi Pond is the oldest one in Korea, built in 634 during the 35th year of the reign of King Mu. The Jeonglimsaji 5-story stone pagoda is National Treasure No. 9, representing the beauty of traditional Korean stone pagodas inheriting traditional wooden pagoda patterns. nw

A mounted military corps will parade in Gongju at the reenactment of the cultural heritage of the Baekje Kingdom during the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival.

(left) An on-the-water performance brightens up the night landscape in Gongju during the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival. A performance troupe reenacts a military parade by Gyaebek, one of the top three loyal subjects of the Baekje Kingdom.

(from top) A reenactment of the Hwangsanbeol Battle in Nonsan. A flame is lit at a ceremony to be carried for the 2010 Great Baekje World Festival.