With a view to boosting Hwacheon regional economy as well as to invigorating tourists from home & abroad, honorable Governor Choi Moon-soon from Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province invite Excellencies & Madames from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps. to the 2018 Hwacheon Tomato Festival on Aug. 4th(Sat.).

This invitation is a part of Global Festival City Hwacheon’s ambitious plans to forge Hwacheon in the world which is united with tomato, in addition to its famous Sancheoneo festival globally in Jan. every year winter season.

Touching upon facts that Hwacheon is a beautiful county during four seasons all the way as well as tourism is one of the important industries for Hwacheon county, honorable Governor Choi from Hwacheon County stresses that Hwacheon County is enforcing four seasons tour so that tourists can visit Hwacheon not only for Winter Sancheoneo festival, but also during spring, summer & autumn seasons as well.

In each segments such as World Zone, Tomatopia Zone, Play Zone, Happy Zone, & last but not least its market exhibition zone, visitors will be able to experience diverse events from fireworks on its opening day(Aug. 2), events such as ‘Seek golden ring’, ‘seek children tomato treasure!’, tomato soccer, tomato sliding, tomato pack experience, pace painting, until tomato icecream & Otoggi publicity booth, according to its organizing committee.

Chief events include eve night & proclamation ceremony including fireworks in the evening on Aug. 2nd, Tomato festival in the Summernight on Aug. 4th(Sat.), the 27th Army Division Military Band performance during Aug. 3rd, 4th & 5th every day, Thousand people’s program with Otoggi, Seek golden ring events every day, to name just a few.

Amid recent reconciliatory atmosphere of the two Koreas on the Peninsula, visiting Diplomatic Corps. will visit Chil-sung Observatory to observe Hwacheon DMZ area and hear security briefing at first in the morning before attending the 2018 Hwacheon Tomato Festival in earnest in the afternoon on Aug. 4th(Sat.).

Since 2003, Hwancheon Tomato Festival began for the sake of boosting brand value of tomato and income increase, benchmarking Spain Bunol tomato festival famous in the world. A total of 50 ton tomatos are used for the festival while ‘Seek Golden Ring!’ is the highlight of the festival.

As regarding its festival story, Hwacheon Tomato Festival, which started in 2003 in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, is held in downtown Sachang-ri, Sanae-myeon, ​Hwacheon-gun every August. It is hosted by Hwacheon-gun and the Hwacheon Tomato Farming Association, organized by the Hwacheon Tomato Festival Promotion Committee, and sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Hwacheon-gun.

On the eve of the main event, a declaration of the festival, Pungmulnori (Korean folk play), in which Hwacheon-gun residents get along in harmony, and a tomato singing contest are held. You can enjoy a variety of unique attractions using tomatoes, which are representative agricultural products in the region.

In a nutshell, The festival spot is for memories of an exciting summer day.

The Tomato Festival, which started in 2003, is more than 10 years old. The original tomato festival, which started in a small town in Spain, was adopted by Sangchang-ri of Hwacheon to increase the brand value and profit from its tomatoes.

One of the representative fruits of summer, Hwacheon's tomatoes from Hwaaksan Mountain are grown in a quasi-highland area (elevation: 400m –600m) and are characterized by their firmness, high sugar content, and long-lasting freshness. Tomatoes to be used for the festival are those whose commodity value has fallen, which were gathered, and those gathered solely for the event, and it is said that about 50 tons are collected for the event.

A highlight of the festival is "Find the Golden Ring," an event during which tomatoes with firm tecture are thrown. While throwing tomatoes, participants must also search for golden rings. While you open your eyes wide looking for the golden rings, you may be confused whether you are looking for a ring or a tomato. The fire truck sprinkles cool water to keep you alert. While you are enjoying looking for a golden ring on a place where it seems to be covered with red carpet, where is the lucky flower ring that you can get 1 don (3.75g) of gold among so many tomatoes?

It is a festival that does not have a festival hall, but instead occupies the roads of downtown in Sachang-ri, so participants as well as viewers can enjoy it fully. A couples dancing game is also awarded 3 boxes of tomatoes for the lucky winners.

The swimming pool for children is also popular. Children do not seem to care about being under the hot sun in August. Smiles also appear on the faces of parents watching children playing happily. At the venue, people are busy with events such as trying on tomato packs, produce tasting, and planting tomato seedlings.

The tomato festival makes adults, children, and foreigners alike reminisce on their childhoods. While children are reluctant to go into the tomato at first, they get used to it quickly. Tomatoes, which taste good and are good for the body, are definitely a valuable food, but wouldn’t it be nice to be using them for both eating and playing? If it helps the local economy, the tomato festival will grow and become more exciting. It is a festival that recalls memories of midsummer, made in the midst of the innocence of childhood.

Participation inquiry: Media partner NDNnews(www.ndnnews.co.kr) & Korea Culture Ambassador Friendship Association T:(02)3482-3114