Various local festivals played a key role in attracting foreign visitors to the nation. Today, some of the standout events were recognized for their contributions. Lee Min-sun takes us to the Korea Festival Contents Awards. The Korea Festival Contents Awards, now in its 7th year, recognizes and rewards the local festivals that have played an important role in the development of regional economies and the local tourism industry. According to the organizer of the awards ceremony, last year 13 million foreign tourists visited Korea, pumping one-point-three billion U.S. dollars into the economy, and this was partly thanks to local festivals. Thirty-three awards were presented in 10 fields, including the quality of content, impact on tourism and the economy, traditional impact, and popularity. What attracted a lot of attention from foreign festival officials was the Asia¡¯s 3 Best Festival''''s Award. This year, Korea''''s Boryeong Mud Festival, Japan''''s Morioka Sansa Odori Festival, and Thailand''''s Songkran Festival were selected as the winners. Boryeong Mud Festival, which drew over 1.8 million visitors from around the world last year, received the award for the second year in a row. "The Mud festival¡¯s selling point is that it is a lively and animated festival. I think we were selected as a winner again because people can feel pleasure at the festival." "Because the Songkran festival is one of the most important festival for Thai people. It¡¯s not just only the joyful festival but also like a family gathering once a year. So, it¡¯s mix between warmth of the family gathering and also the fun festival of water splashing." The winning festivals were chosen for contributing to regional development and the economy. Organizers hope the awards will spur local festivals to grow to become global festivals in the future. Lee Min-sun, Arirang News
