A sketch of the Dancing Dragon Festival in Sangmuryong 2-ri, Yanggu-gun
Residents shake off decades of isolation to welcome visitors with open arms
For the residents of Sangmuryong 2-ri in Yanggu-gun, the years of isolation stretched on far too long. The experience shaped them into people who rarely show anger — a quality that travelers find warmly inviting, even as it stirs a quiet sense of sympathy.
For more than 80 years, with no pedestrian bridge connecting them to the outside world, hardships piled up. Many original residents eventually left the village. Those who stayed moved through anger, then resignation, and finally a kind of acceptance — arriving at a place where even small joys feel outsized.
When Yanggu-gun County Chief Kim Wang-gyu visited the Dancing Dragon Festival, which ran from Saturday through Sunday, residents could easily have aired decades of accumulated grievance and hurt. Instead, they organized the festival themselves, and when Kim came to join them, they thanked him for the support he had provided in making it happen.
Despite the considerable costs of organizing the event, residents kept careful watch over spending — and still managed to give gifts to 100 children who arrived hand-in-hand with their parents at the opening ceremony on Saturday, National Foundation Day.
Before the ceremony, singer Shin Ho-seung set the mood with songs evoking Yanggu's natural beauty and the warmth of its people. The opening program then featured a "Promise Cube" segment pledging a happy future, followed by a poetry reading by poet Woo Hyo-sun.
After a brief ceremony, the festivities continued with a senior model fashion show, a line dance performance by the Yanggu-gun Women's Council, a shrink-art craft experience led by Oh Ran-a, and an accordion busking set by village chief Moon Bun-ok.
Residents and visitors crossed the suspension bridge together for a leisurely walk through the village lanes, sharing laughter along the way. Some also boarded the boat — once the only link between villagers and the outside world — for a scenic cruise on Paro Lake.
At the festival grounds, a six-piece Seoul rock band featuring a Yanggu-born member performed alongside a five-piece band's busking set and a janggu drum team led by Hong Se. Across the bridge, a vintage photo exhibition and a poetry display ran concurrently.
The Yanggu-eup women's association and Sangmuryong 2-ri residents prepared sirejigukbap (a hearty soup with dried radish greens), fish cake skewers, tteokbokki, sundae, pork rinds, savory pancakes and drinks — offering visitors what the organizers called "happiness for 3,000 to 10,000 won."
Most of Saturday's programs carry over into Sunday, with additional activities including two-person yut nori (a traditional board game), darts, balloon-blowing, live music, busking, a singing contest, a prize draw and a closing ceremony performance.
A village that once housed more than 200 people now has only about 40 residents — though that number is expected to grow — and they have prepared a remarkable amount for their guests.
The people of Sangmuryong 2-ri have long carried a deeper longing for connection than perhaps anyone else in the country, and this festival is their way of gathering everything they believe visitors will love and sharing it all at once.
Come here and you will find yourself laughing through the activities — and then, unexpectedly, feeling a sudden swell of emotion.
Anyone who has ever experienced disconnection or isolation may find a kind of liberation at the Dancing Dragon Festival in Sangmuryong 2-ri.
Letting yourself cry freely here, and releasing whatever has been bottled up inside, is one perfectly valid way to experience the Dancing Dragon Festival.
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