With May’s Family Month here, festivals are popping up across Jeonju and throughout North Jeolla Province.
This year, Labor Day (May 1) is a public holiday, creating a “golden holiday” of up to five days. All 14 cities and counties are busy preparing to welcome visitors.
Jeonju will kick off a 10-day festival run starting on the 29th with the Jeonju International Film Festival, followed by the Jeonju Ipap Tree Festival and the Jeonju Garden Industry Expo.
The Jeonju International Film Festival runs through May 8. Under this year’s slogan, “We Don’t Cross the Line,” the festival plans bold experiments both on and off screen, pairing film screenings with a variety of side events.
The Jeonju Ipap Tree Festival, which took place April 25–26, returns May 1–3. In May, the Ipap trees bloom like white snow, making the railroad tracks an especially romantic spot for a stroll.
The Jeonju Garden Industry Expo will run May 8–12 at its largest scale yet. With “A Grand Jeonju Garden” as the main theme, organizers have expanded both the size and the programming compared with last year.
The overlap with the golden holiday has raised expectations among Jeonju’s small-business owners.
Major downtown hotels in Jeonju are already seeing reservation rates near full capacity for the holiday. Nightly rates hover around 300,000–400,000 KRW (about $225–$300), and most properties, except those on the outskirts, are close to sold out.
Yu Jang-myeong, head of the Jeonju Small Business Association, said, “With the Ipap Tree Festival back, the film festival underway and the Garden Industry Expo expanding, local small businesses are very hopeful. A longer holiday means more overnight stays, so we’re definitely expecting a business boost.”
In response, Jeonju will operate a special spring response period through May.
The city has organized its approach into pre-event management, on-site inspections and situation management to prepare for crowding and to prevent safety incidents as festival visitors increase during the golden holiday.
Im Doo-su, head of Jeonju’s Disaster and Safety Department, said, “With the newly revised plan, we’ll carry out hands-on inspections so Jeonju is a city anyone can visit with confidence.”
