[Provided by Yeongju City]
[Provided by Yeongju City]

Yeongju, a city in North Gyeongsang Province, promoted the 2026 Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival at Seoul Plaza on Thursday, distributing promotional materials to residents and tourists from the greater Seoul area at the "Yeongyang Pepper H.O.T Festival" event.

Mayor Hwang Byeong-jik attended in person, handing out festival brochures to visitors and informing them of the schedule and key programs while encouraging them to visit Yeongju.

The outreach was organized to raise awareness of Yeongju's signature festival among potential tourists in the metropolitan area and to foster tourism growth and mutual development through exchanges and cooperation between regional festivals.

Yeongju also introduced the area's distinctive tourism resources alongside the Punggi Ginseng Festival, drawing visitors' attention to the region's broader attractions. The city stepped up its tourism promotion to encourage festival-goers to extend their stay and visit other major sites in Yeongju.

The promotional activity is part of an exchange initiative jointly pursued by Yeongju and Yeongyang-gun to raise the profile of each area's signature festival and expand tourist numbers.

The two regions each draw on their signature local products — Punggi ginseng and Yeongyang pepper — to offer differentiated sights, food and hands-on experiences.

"We will continue to cooperate so that exchanges between regional festivals give tourists the opportunity to experience a variety of events, and translate into increased visitor numbers and economic vitality for our communities," Mayor Hwang said.

The 2026 Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival is scheduled to run for nine days, from Oct. 3 to Oct. 11, in and around Punggi-eup in Yeongju.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com