Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival
Kimchi Making Event at the 9th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival This photo shows the Kimchi making event at the 9th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival in 2015.
Opening Ceremony of the 6th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival This photo shows the opening ceremony of the 6th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival in 2010.
Poster of the 13th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival This is the poster of the 13th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival in 2019.
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LocationGomsohang-gil Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryFestival ? Event
- Korean곰소 젓갈 발효 축제
- Chinese-醱酵祝祭
- Nickname곰소 젓갈 축제
- FieldCulture & Education / Culture & Liberal Arts
- Contents TypeEvent
- Event LocationGomsohang-gil Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Supervision GroupBuan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- A local festival held on the theme of Gomso’s major specialty product, Gomso Seafood (fermented seafood), between September and October every year in Gomso-ri, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Summary
- Gomso Bay in Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun is a rare and unusual site where all types of sediment from sand to mud can be found, and its mudflat is extremely clean and unspoiled as the area is surrounded by mountains, and there are no industrial complexes or factories in the vicinity of the bay. In addition, the local water salinity is high because river inflow is low.
The Gomso Salt Field is one of only a few sun-dried salt production areas in Korea. It is said that salt was produced by boiling seawater from Julpo Bay to Gomso Bay during the Joseon period. The current Gomso Salt Field was built at the end of the Japanese colonial era; however, from the time of Korean Independence, the field was established as a sun-dried salt production complex. Gomso’s salt and fermented seafood products are well known throughout the country, and its fermented seafood won a KOREA-National Brand Award in April 2011 together with Buan’s mulberry.
- Origins and Background of the Festival
- The festival was established in 2004 to promote regional specialties, such as fish and seafood from the waters around Gomso, and Gomso’s fermented seafood made with sun-dried salt from the Gomso salt field. Gomso, one of Korea’s three major fermented seafood production areas, usually attracts many visitors; however, the number of visitors dropped completely due to a controversy over the construction of a nuclear waste site in the area, starting in 2003 and continuing for over a year. Thus, Gomso merchants planned the festival in a bid to revitalize the Gomso fermented seafood market, and the festival has since become one of Buan’s major festivals. The Gomso Seafood Festival was initially renamed as the Gomso Seafood Seafood Festival in 2013, before being renamed as the Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival in 2015.
- Content of Events
- The first Gomso Seafood Festival was held as a half-marathon competition on October 17, 2004. All participants who finished the run received a medal, marathon T-shirts, and fish sauce for making kimjang. The festival also held various events including discount sales on Gomso fermented seafood products. The 12th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival was held on the theme of “Experience flavors and affection in Gomso, the home of fermented seafood” from September 14 to 19 in 2018. The festival provided a variety of experience programs including making fermented seafood, making kimchi with Gomso fermented seafood, making salt in three colors, catching eels, Princess Baryo clay, trick art (I am Popeye), and other programs involving local salt and fermented seafood. The 13th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival was held on the same theme as the previous year from October 3-5, 2019, and also featured diverse experience programs such as making fermented seafood, catching slippery eels, making kimchi with Gomso fermented seafood (a program for foreign visitors), and holding Gomso salt for a long time, as well as a fermented seafood competition.
- Current Status
- The first Gomso Seafood Festival, held largely as a half-marathon competition in 2004, was jointly hosted by Jinseo-myeon and the Korean Federation of Social Sports and Athletics, while the second Gomso Seafood Festival was hosted by the Gomso Seafood Association. However, from the third festival onwards it has been hosted by the Promotion Committee of the Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival. In 2018, the 12th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival attracted 31,000 visitors, and is estimated to have contributed KRW 1.3 billion in terms of local economic growth. In 2019, the 13th Gomso Fermented Seafood Festival was visited by some 43,000 people.