Hoengseong Korean Beef Festival opens on the 7th, adding stay-based tourism to a grill site with 300 cattle

【Financial News, Hoengseong—Reporter Kim Gi-seop】The 22nd Hoengseong Korean Beef Festival, which has prepared around 300 head of Hanwoo cattle, held its opening ceremony on the 7th and is now gearing up to welcome visitors for its five-day run.
According to Hoengseong County and the Hoengseong Culture and Tourism Foundation on the 7th, the festival will run for five days, from that day through the 11th, under the theme “Taste, Stay and Shine around Seomgang Riverside Park.” Hoengseong Hanwoo is the region’s flagship brand and has won the Korea Consumer Trust Representative Brand Grand Prize for 19 consecutive years.
At the heart of the festival is a grilling area set up directly by three livestock organizations: Hoengseong Livestock Cooperative, Hoengseong Hanwoo Nonghyup Distribution Business Group, and Hoengseong Hanwoo Cooperative. Visitors can choose meat at the sales outlets at the organizations’ own direct-sale prices and grill it right away. The grilling area is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. To avoid crowds, the foundation recommends visiting at lunchtime on weekdays or between 3 and 5 p.m. on weekends. After eating, visitors can enjoy the Seomgang lantern trail and free performances on the main stage every evening at 7.
Since drawing up a premium-branding plan in 1995, the county has worked for more than 30 years to manage bloodlines and improve quality. Under the county governor’s quality certification system, only Hanwoo born in Hoengseong and processed at designated slaughterhouses and processing facilities is supplied. Last year, Hoengseong Hanwoo became the first domestic Hanwoo to enter the United Arab Emirates market.


On the 9th, festival ambassador and actor Kim Seung-soo will visit three Hanwoo sales outlets and the Local Farm Market with Hoengseong County Governor Jang Shin-sang, starting at 1:30 p.m., to promote the festival. From 3 p.m., a fan-signing event, commemorative photos, and a prize drawing will be held at the Happy Hanwoo Welcome Center.
The Hoengseong County Agricultural Technology Center is running a rural-experience tourism program linked to the festival, bringing in around 300 tourists on nine buses. The offerings include packages linked to high-speed rail and bus tours departing from the capital region. Guided itineraries include Pungsuwon Catholic Church, Course 5 of the Hoengseong Lake Trail, Guryongsa Temple on Mt. Chiaksan in Wonju, and the Balwangsan Mountain cable car in Pyeongchang. The county is also distributing framed promotional displays titled “The Journey of Hoengseong Hanwoo” at specialty outlets and other locations in the county. They trace 60 years of history, from the opening of a livestock market in the 1960s to the expansion of export markets.
“We have created an opportunity for people to enjoy Hoengseong Hanwoo, whose bloodlines and quality have been maintained for 30 years, at the direct-sale prices charged by livestock organizations,” said Kim Dae-jung, CEO of the Hoengseong Culture and Tourism Foundation. “I hope you’ll enjoy Hanwoo at the grilling area at lunchtime, take in the Seomgang lantern trail and free performances in the evening, and spend the whole day in Hoengseong.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter