For the Lunar New Year holiday this year, a variety of food festivals and hands-on programs for family visitors are unfolding across regions including South Chungcheong Province and Sejong.

According to Hongseong County in South Chungcheong Province, through the 22nd the ‘The 23rd Hongseong Namdang Port Saejogae Festival’ is being held around Namdang Port in Seobu-myeon. Unlike last year, when extreme heat and other abnormal weather sharply reduced saejogae output and the event was held under the revised name ‘Seafood Festival with Saejogae’, this year yields have recovered and the festival has regained its full-fledged saejogae focus. However, as catches have not sufficiently kept pace with nationwide demand growth, price increases have been unavoidable.

According to the Hongseong Namdang Port Saejogae Festival Promotion Committee, since the opening on the 17th of last month and up to the break-even point, fixed prices were maintained at 90,000 KRW for takeout and 100,000 KRW at restaurants per 1㎏ (shells not included). However, due to worsening fishing conditions and rising costs this month, prices have been adjusted to 120,000 KRW for takeout and 130,000 KRW at restaurants.

Festival Promotion Committee Chair Kim Yong-tae said, “Due to climate change and changes in the marine environment, fishing conditions are becoming increasingly difficult, and together with the need to conserve saejogae resources and rising labor and distribution costs, we had no choice but to raise prices” and “Despite higher prices, we will do our best in festival operations so that visitors to Namdang Port can experience the best taste and service”.

Namdang Port saejogae are known for thin, translucent flesh, a tender texture, and a clean yet deep umami flavor, and they are said to be at their best when enjoyed as shabu-shabu.

The Korea Arboretum and Garden Institute under the Korea Forest Service (Hansu-jeong) will open free of charge through the 18th the Baekdudaegan National Arboretum (Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang), the Sejong National Arboretum (Sejong), and the National Korea Native Plant Garden (Pyeongchang, Gangwon) to mark the Lunar New Year.

Hansu-jeong will open its affiliated institutions free of charge during the holiday period, except on the 17th, the day of Lunar New Year itself, and has prepared a variety of events.

At the Baekdudaegan National Arboretum visitor center and at the National Korea Native Plant Garden, there will be activity zones where the whole family can enjoy games such as tuho, yutnori, and jegichagi, while at the Festival Yard of the Sejong National Arboretum, experience spaces for traditional instruments such as buk, janggu, jing, kkwaenggwari, and sogo, along with 12 kinds of traditional games, will be in operation.

The Baekdudaegan National Arboretum garden shop is also holding special discounts and, in cooperation with a youth enterprise in the Bonghwa area, will sell in limited quantities the Baekdudaegan National Arboretum Dubai Chewy Cookie named ‘Baekdu Jjonku’.

At the Four Seasons Learning Center of the Sejong National Arboretum, various experiential education programs are offered, including making hanbok-shaped envelopes for ‘Health’, ‘Happiness’, and ‘New Year Blessings’; a native-plant coloring book in which children color 12 native species such as Miseonnamu, Hieori, and dongbaek; and a terrarium kit project.

At the book cafe of the National Korea Native Plant Garden, a plant specimen exhibition on native and seasonal plants is being held, and a ‘Make Your Own Flower Frame’ activity using pressed flowers and plant materials is offered.

Jeongdong Experience Village in Sejong City also offers a variety of family programs.

The village will unveil during the holiday a group of six baby goat siblings born in mid to late last month.

It will also offer hands-on experiences with traditional folk games such as yutnori, tuho, and jegichagi. From the 15th to the 18th, there will be an event giving a calf-character key ring to the first 30 visitors each day.

In particular, inside the tangerine greenhouse, more than 200 tangerine trees are heavy with fruit at harvest time, creating an exotic scene.

Jeongdong Experience Village has hygienic dairy-experience facilities and runs programs for making pizza, cheese, string cheese, and cookies. It also operates an animal farm where visitors can meet around 40 herbivores including goats, calves, alpacas, donkeys, and sheep.