A popular festival known for drawing large crowds is turning heads by holding a preview event — much like an opening game before the main season — a week before its official run begins.
Donghae city will hold a preview festival Saturday and Sunday at Mureung Byeolyucheonji ahead of the main Lavender Festival, scheduled for June 13-21.
The preview is more than a rehearsal. It is designed to let visitors experience the site's transformation firsthand — a former limestone mine reborn as a healing space blanketed in lavender — while also serving as an on-site inspection to ensure a more comfortable environment when the main festival opens.
City officials plan to use the preview to assess parking operations, visitor flow, ticketing systems and rest facility usage. They also intend to analyze visitor movement patterns and dwell times and apply the findings to the main festival's operations.
This year's festival runs under the theme "Lavender in Starlight." The main stage has been relocated from the existing lawn plaza to "Baramsumddeul," a garden terrace adjoining the lavender fields, so visitors can enjoy performances and rest surrounded by the purple blooms.
A lavender pub and rest area will also be set up within the site's industrial heritage zone — where a crusher and decommissioned mine facilities still stand — showcasing the unique character of Mureung Byeolyucheonji, where traces of its industrial past coexist with contemporary culture and tourism.
"The preview festival will serve as an on-site test bed to identify and address any inconveniences from the visitor's perspective," said Kim Sun-gi, head of the Mureung Strategy Division. "We hope families will make this their first outing after the election and come see for themselves the purple lavender blooming over a former mine, and the story of renewal it tells."
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