Changwon City said it will hold the 26th Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival across the Masan area for 9 days from October 31 to November 8. At a briefing in the City Hall press center, Kim Yeong-cheol, director general of Changwon City's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, explained that this year's festival is centered on 3·15 Haeyang Nuri Park and has expanded to include Hapo Waterfront Park and Masan Haeyang Sindosi (Masan Marine New Town).
This year's slogan is "Chrysanthemums Embrace the Autumn Sea," and the festival is divided into 3 zones according to the character of each location. The 1st festival site, 3·15 Haeyang Nuri Park, will host 8 themed exhibitions decorated with 100,000 chrysanthemum plants, the opening ceremony and a multimedia fireworks show. The 2nd festival site, Hapo Waterfront Park, will feature a fireworks show held in partnership with local businesses, performances for the Masan Port Night Sea Festival and gamseong pocha (casual pop-up bars), while the newly created 3rd festival site, Masan Haeyang Sindosi, will be laid out as a space aimed at young people, with an autumn cinema, a wedding photo zone and AI experience booths.
New programs include a nakhwa nori (traditional "falling fire" show) on the sea and a chrysanthemum costume contest. The nakhwa nori on the sea will take place on November 4 at 7 p.m., and the chrysanthemum costume contest will be held on November 7 at 6:30 p.m. under the theme "Freely Expressing Changwon and Chrysanthemums." Changwon City plans to recruit participants until the 18th of next month and select 10 teams for the finals through a preliminary review, and the finalists will wear costumes they made themselves and introduce Changwon and chrysanthemums on site.
For food, chefs who appeared on tvN's "Street Restaurant Fighter" will run outlets at the food place inside the festival grounds. A "Chrysanthemum Pass" priced at 12,900 won is also being introduced and will be sold on travel agency websites; it gives a discount of 2,000 won each at 3 booths within the festival grounds, as well as discounts at affiliated stores in Changwon City. Other programs include the Gukhyang Song Festival, the Indie Music Festa, cultural performances by local artists, a chrysanthemum bonsai exhibition, a new flower wreath competition and chrysanthemum dance cheerleading.
Convenience and safety measures have also been strengthened. Parking has been expanded to 5,500 spaces, 1,000 more than last year, and temporary restrooms have been increased from 5 locations to 9. A separate delivery zone with 250 seats will be designated, a reusable container zone will be operated to reduce disposable waste, and barrier-free routes have been secured for people with limited mobility. Every booth will be required to display prices, country of origin, quantity and payment methods, and a "one-strike-out" system will apply, under which any booth caught overcharging will be removed immediately.
The Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival has been held since 2000 to promote the quality of Masan chrysanthemums and boost their consumption. Masan is where 6 farm households in the Hoewon-dong area began the first commercial cultivation of chrysanthemums in Korea in 1961, and where chrysanthemums were first exported to Japan in 1972. Related events, including the Changwon Drone-con Boat Competition and the Changdong Ramyeon Festival, will also be held during the festival period. Inquiries: 055-225-2341.
The full schedule is available on the festival details page.