Farewell Covid, hello festivals!

Visitors attend the 24th Wonju Hanji Festival in Wonju Hanji Theme Park, in Wonju, Gangwon Province on Thursday. [NEWS1]

As social distancing measures have been lifted and the pandemic continues to wane, spring festivals around the country are reopening after a two-year hiatus. More than 40 festivals and events are opening in the month of May.

In Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), an 8-meter bear named “bearballoon” was installed this week. The work of artist Lim Ji-bin, 38, the pink balloon greets visitors at the top of the DDP stairs and, depending the angle, looks like it is waving or walking down the stairs.

“It’s big as a house, but still very cute,” a visitor said.

Bearballoon is part of the DDP's “Design Amusement Park” festival from Thursday to May 15. The festival will show a new movie featuring the highly popular “Pinkpong” character, and will also have DJ performances every Friday and Sunday night.

In Moonkyung, North Gyeongsang Province, the Moonkyung Tea Bowl Festival kicked off on April 30. Visitors can see tea bowls and other traditional ceramics from ceramics masters of Moonkyung. Visitors can also participate in a program that lets them experience the process of ceramics making. At an auction, visitors have the chance to buy traditional ceramic pieces from the masters.

In Goryeong, also in North Gyeongsang Province, the Greater Gaya Festival opened on Thursday and will continue until Sunday. A program that allows visitors to collect gold dust is one of the festival’s main attractions. Visitors can bring the gold dust home. Other attractions include a history quiz conducted through a metaverse program and an event in which visitors can play traditional instruments.

The Hadong Wild Tea Culture Festival, a festival held in Hadong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, opened Wednesday and runs until Sunday. The festival’s slogan this year is “The King’s tea rises to the world beyond a thousand years.” Visitors can participate in tea tastings.

“As this is the first face-to-face festival in two years, we have prepared events that will let you really experience the taste of the teas,” said an official from Hadong-gun.

In Busan, the Gijang Anchovy Festival will be held from May 20 to May 22. The Haeundae Sand Festival, featuring a variety of artworks made from sand, will be held from May 20 to May 23.

In South Jeolla Province, the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival also resumed after two years. This year’s festival will be held until Sunday at Hampyeong Expo Park and the downtown area of Hampyeong. 220,000 butterflies of 23 species and 500,000 flowers can be seen at the festival. The butterfly festival attracted more than 300,000 visitors every year before the pandemic.

The Gochang Green Barley Festival is the main festival in North Jeolla Province. In addition to walking on the paths between barley fields, visitors can ride a Ferris wheel, and participate in art projects.

Gwangwon Province is playing host to the 24th Wonju Hanji Festival held in Wonju. Hanji is traditional handmade paper, and the festival features artwork made from the material. Held from Thursday until May 15, the festival’s slogan is “Thousands of light: forest of paper.”

BY KIM MIN-WOOK, LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]