Suncheon City (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) announced that it will hold the Suncheon Bay Yellowtail Olympics and Big Catch Festival in the Geocha and Waon villages, a heritage area of the Suncheon tidal flat, a world-recognized ecosystem treasure trove.
This Ptoobae Olympics and Big Catch Festival is a World Heritage enjoyment program specially prepared to spread the value of the Suncheon Tidal Flat in the middle of the 2024 Suncheon World Heritage Festival, which is being held successfully with enthusiastic participation and positive reviews from citizens.
The Turtle Boat Olympics will be held on October 19th from 14:00 to 15:00 at the Geocha Turtle Boat Experience Center in Suncheon Bay, Byeolryang-myeon, famous for its mud flat experience center, and the Big Catch Festival will be held from 9:00 to 12:00 on the 20th at Waon Port in Waon Village, Haeryong-myeon, which has an impressive beautiful sunset.
First, the Tteobae Olympics is a racing competition using the Tteokbae, a traditional fishing gear for mudflat fishing and a symbol of coexistence with nature, where residents who have lived in the Suncheon tidal flat for thousands of years travel across the wide tidal flat to collect cockles.
The race will be divided into 4 events: senior, middle-aged, youth, and youth, with a total of 8 matches, 2 for men and 2 for women. This will be followed by a relay relay in which five people each participate from the fishing villages of Geocha, Shindeok, and Mupung villages, which are part of the Suncheon tidal flat heritage area.
At the experience center, there will also be a demonstration of making a mudboat by Geocha Village residents, coloring a mudboat, playing pungmul, and experience booths (reed pinwheel, face painting).
In addition, an academic forum will be held to reexamine the heritage value of Suncheon Bay mudflats and foster them as experience content for the Suncheon tidal flat. The event will be held on the 2nd floor of the Suncheon Bay Wetland Natural Ecology Center from 15:00 to 17:00 on the 18th from 15:00 to 17:00 with the participation of 9 related experts, including the Dried Pear Workshop and the Jeonnam Eastern Community Research Institute, under the theme of “Suncheon Bay Dried Pear, Becoming Culture.”
The Big Catch Festival, held on the 20th, is an event to recreate the old Big Catch Festival that was passed down in the Suncheon Bay area. The event, which has been cut off due to the lack of successors, was prepared to restore the tradition of the village in the World Heritage Preservation Area and pass it on to future generations.
The Big Catch Festival begins at 10 o’clock with a prayer for a big catch and no accidents for the year, starting with road play and walking on the ground. A byeolsingut and ritual ceremony for the children of Mr. Kim Myeong-rye, who has continued the tradition for five generations as a hereditary warrior in the region, and a sea boat parade by fishermen from Waon, Hwapo, and Daedae villages will be held.
Suncheon Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu said, “As the fishing community is aging, most of the precious traditional fishing cultures that have been passed down from generation to generation are in danger of disappearing because they cannot find young successors.” He added, “Our city is discovering and preserving the unique culture of the Suncheon Bay fishing village. “We will take the lead in fostering heritage content that represents the region by utilizing it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suncheon City (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) announced that it will operate a reservation-based black crane birdwatching tour product starting November 2.
Every year at the end of October, a spectacle that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world unfolds in Suncheon Bay. This is the wintering appearance of the black-crowned crane, an endangered species. The black-crowned cranes that spend the winter in Suncheon Bay are also known as lucky birds that symbolize happiness, longevity, and conjugal love.
This travel product was designed to provide an opportunity to communicate with nature, such as observing the feeding activities of the lucky birds, black-crowned cranes, and listening to the sounds of Suncheon Bay. We have prepared content so that even tourists who are unfamiliar with birdwatching can find interest, including vivid stories of Suncheon Bay by a commentator, rental of specialized birdwatching equipment, and guidance on birdwatching points by local experts.
We operate two types of products: a one-day plan to experience birdwatching in a compact way and a 2-day/1 night plan to fully enjoy birdwatching. Reservations can be made through the Whooping Crane Birdwatching Travel website.
A city official said, “We have uprooted electric poles for the black-crowned cranes and preserved the pristine nature and naturalness of Suncheon Bay. We hope you will spend some healing time in the vivid, breathing Mother Nature and may also find some special luck.”
Economy Queen Reporter Kim Hong-mi / Photo Suncheon City
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