Chuncheon Makguksu and Dakgalbi Festival draws 510,000, establishing itself as a K-gourmet festival

【Financial News | Chuncheon = Kim Gi-seop, staff writer】The Chuncheon Makguksu and Dakgalbi Festival, featuring dishes prepared by 19 of Chuncheon’s leading businesses alongside cuisine by chefs from overseas and African culture, drew 510,000 people over five days and is estimated to have generated an economic impact of 21 billion won.
According to Chuncheon City on the 18th, this year’s Chuncheon Makguksu and Dakgalbi Festival, held around the Gongjicheon riverside trail from the 14th through the 18th, wrapped up successfully after drawing 510,000 residents and tourists. The economic impact was estimated by adding together spending at the festival grounds and in local commercial areas, based on average spending per visitor. This year, the festival was extended from four days to five, and its global food culture experiences and travel programs linked to the local area were expanded.
A total of 19 businesses took part at the festival, up from last year, including 11 dakgalbi restaurants and eight makguksu restaurants. They offered dakgalbi for 9,900 won and makguksu for 6,900 won. Dining and rest areas were expanded, and reusable containers helped reduce single-use items and waste. The Makdak Experience and Promotion Hall gave away 100 servings each of makguksu and dakgalbi every day, while performances by Chuncheon native Lee So-na, winner of Miss Trot 4, and others continued on the riverside stage.


The biggest change was the Global Village in the International Pavilion. It was expanded from last year’s experience space, which mainly served international students, into a venue for food and cultural exchange involving chefs from overseas cities, foreign embassies in Korea, and the Korea-Africa Foundation. Chefs from Dalian and Changzhou in China, Lam Dong Province in Vietnam, Hofu in Japan, and Parma in Italy, along with culinary experts from France and Spain, presented 11 dishes. More than 4,500 people took part in free tastings over the five days. A highlight was the debut of dakgalbi tortelli, made by Parma chef Michele Buia and Kim Seong-cheol, head chef at Tongnamujip Dakgalbi, by filling fresh Italian pasta with dakgalbi.
Africa Week featured a percussion performance by the Kenyan group Kayamba Africa and a traditional coffee ceremony by members of the Ethiopian community in Korea. On the 16th, 232 people joined the Chuncheon Gye-moim Train, organized as part of the K-Gourmet Belt project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute, and visited the festival grounds, local restaurants, breweries, and rural experience villages.
Discount vouchers worth 3,000 won off dakgalbi and 1,500 won off makguksu can be used at restaurants outside the festival grounds through the 25th. The city plans to improve its content and visitor amenities based on feedback from visitors and participating businesses, and to strengthen links between food and tourism.
Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han said, “The festival spread beyond Gongjicheon to the entire city, as dishes by chefs from overseas and African culture blended with the makguksu and dakgalbi offered by 19 local businesses, and visitors on the Gye-moim Train tour also visited breweries and experience villages. We will develop it into the nation’s leading K-gourmet festival, connecting a meal enjoyed at the festival grounds with travel and spending throughout Chuncheon.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter