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October brings autumn in earnest and to welcome the change of season, Suwon is hosting the ‘Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival,’ a special 3-day event that can help liven up our everyday lives.
A time machine to the Joseon Dynasty
In 1795, King Jeongjo the Great embarked on an 8-day trip to the Hwaseong Fortress to celebrate the 60th birthday of Crown Princess Hong, his mother. The royal procession of King Jeongjo has been captured in paintings such as the ‘Hwaseong Wonhaeng Dobyeong’ or books such as the ‘Wonhaeng Eulmyo Jeongri Uigwe.’ The Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival offers a variety of reenactment programs, including the ‘60th Birthday Banquet of Crown Princess Hong’ and the ‘King Jeongjo Tomb Parade Reenactment.’ Also, modern performances inspired by features that originally accompanied the royal procession such as ‘Nakseongyeon’ and martial arts troupe performance ‘Yajo’ add a bit of creativity to the Festival.
Bigger, closer festival
This year the Festival will extend all the way from the Hwaseomun Gate to the area surrounding Jangan Park, and programs will get under way at more venues compared to last year. In effect, the Festival, which was confined to the Hwaseong Haenggung Temporary Palace and Haenggung Square in previous years, will now spread across the entire Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. To connect each venue, the Festival organizers have prepared a number of experiential programs. The ‘Suwoni Mobile Studio’ will conduct interviews with visitors at the Festival to broadcast them in real-time, and programs such as ‘The great Joseon Dynasty detective finds out who the real corrupt official is,’ which invites the audience to look out for the corrupt official, and the ‘Traditional Plaster Pantomime,’ which looks part-statue and part-human, to offer a more enjoyable experience for visitors.
A fantastic and beautiful night out at the Haenggung Temporary Palace
You can enjoy an entirely different view when the moonlight shines upon the Hwaseong Haenggung Temporary Palace. Ordinarily, the Hwaseong Haenggung Temporary Palace is closed to the public after nightfall. However, thanks to the ‘Night Tour with Moonlight (admission fee required)’ available only at the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, you can enjoy various performances and exhibitions at the Hwaseong Haenggung Temporary Palace in the evening. The Night Tour features a media art performance called ‘Mancheon Myeongwol Juinong’ focusing on King Jeongjo’s love for the people using holograms, lighting, and balloon light fixtures. The Night Tour also offers the ‘Haenggung Osolbit-gil’ walk, where people can follow the light and walk along hidden paths and gardens inside Hwaseong Haenggung Temporary Palace, and the ‘Paper Lantern Performance,’ which is a performance that uses paper lanterns made with five different colors. Moreover, this year’s Festival has events outside the Hwaseong Haenggung Temporary Palace to light up the night for everyone out and about to enjoy their evening. Especially, make sure you don’t miss the ‘Suwon Lantern Festival,’ that gets under way along the Suwoncheon, and ‘Banghwasuryujeong Moonlight Concert,’ which gets under way at the most beautiful spot across Suwon Hwaseong Fortress (Yongyeon).
Festival by the people
2018 is the year that the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival establishes its identity as a ‘Citizen-centric Festival.’ In April, Suwon established a citizen-led Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival Promotional Committee. So far, the Committee has shared public opinions regarding the potential joint reenactment of King Jeongjo Tomb Parade Reenactment and helped search for programs in which citizens can participate in. Also, each subcommittee within the Committee has proposed various opinions to ensure the success of this year’s Festival. In 2018, 21 citizen-participation programs will be available at the Festival, which is six more than 2017. The Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival is also an event funded by public donations. Beautiful lanterns donated by the public will light up various venues at the Festival and donated funds will be used for various programs at the Festival, including the parade and citizen-proposed programs, as well as the joint reenactment of the King Jeongjo Tomb Parade Reenactment. Contributors will be given a number of benefits, so if you are a Suwon citizen, try donating and enjoy this year's Festival even more.
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