Clothing for all weather conditions Packed Lunch or Snacks Comfortable Shoes

BUS, TRAIN, CAR

This festival is unique and entertaining. I went on a day trip with Funday Korea Networks to experience this festival. It was in Gwangju Gyeonggi Do which is not too far from Seoul. First, we attended a ceramics workshop where some of us had the experience of trying to make a ceramic item of our own out of clay. The teacher was fun and patient. The only downside was we didn't get to keep the item we made due to the fact that it requires firing up to make it hard and safe to carry home. This was most unfortunate. I think in the future they should consider having this service available. There were vendors/craftsman displaying their amazing ceramics and we could also experience traditional tea ceremony. The tea was delicious and refreshing. Outside the main pavilion there were traditional games which makes this event excellent for families. You could also borrow a hanbok for 1 hour and make some other crafts. I made a tote bag with a traditional design. Lunch was included and the menu was varied however if you have dietary requirements, I suggest bringing a packed lunch with you. The food albeit delicious was too much of a small portion for me personally and I found the food trucks were a bit too expensive for my budget. 7000 won for a small portion of simple french fries. 5000won for churros etc. However, later I discovered a small convenience store on site by the open air theatre and I was able to buy ramyeon there. After lunch, we had to attend a symposium where we heard a man from Kentucky talk about his journey of 50 years working with clay. This was in English and rather entertaining to listen to. The second speaker was from Japan. I was impressed to see that the organisers tried using AI to translate what was being said in real-time in English. Although they had quite a lot of tech issues with this, I truly appreciate the effort they made to make us foreigners feel included and make sure we can understand what was being said. It is a step in the right direction as far as inclusivity goes. The site itself is massive and has a lot to offer. There is also a ceramics museum and some shops too. The site is situated in the middle of a park with beautiful flowers and also swings for kids. The true highlight was the royal parade. Some of the tour participants wore hanbok uniforms and participated. This is when I realised how proud this region is of their traditions. The ceremony was stunning to watch and they even had a vip actor re-enacting the part of the king. Sadly none of this was translated in English but it was fun to watch. The show continued with very long speeches (which were necessary since it was a formal official event but a little boring if you don't understand Korean). Then there was some beautiful traditional singing (pansori/minyo), fan dancing and salumnori. Unfortunately due to our tight schedule we were unable to enjoy the trot singing performance by Song Ga In but it was still a fun day overall.