A bride and groom cross the single-log bridge on their way to the wedding ceremony venue. [Yeongju City]
A bride and groom cross the single-log bridge on their way to the wedding ceremony venue. [Yeongju City]

The city of Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province announced Monday that the 2026 Yeongju Museom Single-Log Bridge Festival concluded successfully after a two-day run Saturday and Sunday at Museom Village in Munsu-myeon.

This year's festival carried the theme "Museom: Crossing Time, Connecting People," weaving the arc of a single life into the imagery of the single-log bridge — the same path once traveled by flower palanquins bearing brides into the village and funeral biers carrying the departed away.

On opening day Saturday, the program "A Wedding Path for a New Life — Museom Yeonga" set the festival in motion. The bride and groom crossed the single-log bridge alongside a traditional folk-music troupe, making their way to the sandbar and the ceremony grounds for a full reenactment of a traditional Korean wedding.

The opening ceremony followed on the main stage at Nongdang Historic House, featuring pansori and percussion by master singer Bae Il-dong, accompanied by piri flute and geomungo zither, alongside a large-brush calligraphy performance by artist Kim Seong-tae.

The second day brought "Museom Byeolga," a program depicting the final journey of a life.

Led by the Munsu-myeon Traditional Funeral Bier Preservation Society, the event reenacted traditional funeral bier chants and a funeral procession. Residents and tourists joined the procession as it wound along the sandbar and across the single-log bridge, reviving the scenery of the old Museom Village.

Throughout the festival, the entire village was transformed into a living experiential space.

At historic sites including Ado Seosuk, Haeudan Historic House, Manjukjae Historic House, Oheon Historic House and the Museom Exhibition Hall, visitors took part in the "Museom Yuramtour" — a hands-on program featuring traditional games such as tuho ring toss, spinning tops, stone-knocking, card flipping and jegi kicking.

At the historic houses and on the sandbar, a separate program called "Museom Life Festival" drew strong crowds eager to experience the everyday culture of the old village firsthand, with activities including classical verse recitation, scripture reading, yutnori board games, cloth-pounding, traditional food tasting and well-drawing.

"This year's festival focused on conveying the stories Museom Village holds more deeply, by placing the beginning and end of a person's life — and everything in between — on the single-log bridge," an official from the Yeongju Culture and Tourism Foundation said. "We will continue to develop the festival into one that visitors want to linger in and return to."


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