Tedious formalities cut; nakkhwa fire show, cooking demonstration and more fill the program
The Wonju Mandu Festival, running Thursday through Saturday, is cutting back on ceremonial formalities and filling the program with a wide range of content instead.
Lengthy opening speeches, congratulatory remarks and VIP introductions will be trimmed or dropped entirely to make more room for festival programming.
The opening ceremony will have all attending citizens join hands to declare the start of the festival — a gesture meant to underscore the event's citizen-centered spirit.
The ceremony will close with a nakkhwa fire show on the Wonju Stream, a traditional Korean ember-dropping spectacle that will light up the autumn night sky. Visitors will share wishes written on paper slips as glowing embers cascade over the water.
"The true stars of the festival are the citizens, and the opening ceremony should reflect that," Wonju Mayor Ku Ja-yeol said. "We will boldly cut back on routine formalities and give people more time to enjoy themselves together, so that citizens are the main characters from the opening moment to the very last."
The Wonju Mandu Festival runs Thursday through Saturday along the Wonju Stream — near the early-morning market — and the surrounding Culture Street. The program features mandu food stalls offering a variety of dumplings, a cooking show by chef Jeong Ji-seon, the nakkhwa fire show on the Wonju Stream, and a range of citizen participation programs.
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