[Provided by Yecheon Culture and Tourism Foundation]
[Provided by Yecheon Culture and Tourism Foundation]

The Yecheon Culture and Tourism Foundation announced Friday that the 2026 Yecheon Samgang Naru Tavern Festival will be held for three days, from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27, at the Samgang Cultural Complex.

This year's festival reflects the updated name "Samgang Naru Tavern," adopted following the site's designation as a national folk cultural heritage in 2025, and reinterprets the historical and cultural significance of the old river crossing in a contemporary way throughout the event.

Three newly introduced characters make their debut: Dari, an otter inspired by the itinerant merchants known as bobu merchants; Gangi, representing the Samgang rivers and their ferryman; and Jumi, a warm-hearted tavern hostess.

The festival's signature stamp tour has been reimagined as the "Samgang Bobu Merchant Pass."

Participants carry a tour booklet and traditional coins as they complete five required and three optional programs, collecting eight stamps in total to receive a commemorative gift.

Alongside this, the festival offers a range of programs — a personality quiz called "Find Your Samgang Character," a "Bobu Merchant Gathering" in which actors portraying life at the old ferry landing mingle with visitors, and a "Samgang Slow Post Office" where festival memories are mailed back to participants a year later.

Other activities include a traditional candy-making workshop and hands-on experiences in traditional clothing, pottery spinning, kayaking, caricature drawing and a children's zone. The Samgang Market, Haeborae Market and food trucks also operate throughout the festival, selling a variety of goods and street food.

"Samgang Naru Tavern stood at the confluence of the Nakdong, Naeseong and Geumcheon rivers, a place where countless people passed through and rested," said An Byeong-yun, chairman of the foundation's board. "We have woven the many stories of that place into an enjoyable festival, and we hope visitors will come with their families during the chuseok holiday to create special memories."


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