Known as a nation of majestic landscapes, exotic cuisine and great bargain shopping, Korea also celebrates a fascinating cultural heritage through numerous exciting festivals. These festivals feature hands-on demonstrations, local food samplings and native cultural performances. The brochure Korea: Cultural Festivals 2004 (July-December) highlights the regional festival sites and offers information on transportation, accommodations and nearby visitor attractions. The festival line-up includes:

Boryeong Mud Festival (July 16-22, 2004)
Daechon Beach, the longest on Korea’s west coast, is made up of a special mud, rich in minerals and known as a curative for various skin diseases. Mud stars at the festival, which offers mud massage, mud wrestling, mud body painting, and a mud beauty contest. www.mudfestival.or.kr

Gangjin Celadon Festival (July 31-August 6, 2004)
Gangjin City, with its favorable location, mild climate and abundant clay, served as the home of Korea’s celadon culture, which flourished for 500 years during the Goryeo Dynasty. The festival features do-it-yourself ceramic making and celadon exhibitions. www.gangjin.go.kr

Muju Firefly Festival (August 20-28, 2004)
An environmentally friendly festival, the Firefly Festival celebrates the importance of nature and the clean ecosystem needed to support the threatened firefly. Festival events include traditional folk performances and firefly natural science classes. www.firefly.or.kr

Geumsam Insam Festival (September 10-19, 2004)
Insam (also known as Ginseng) largely originates from Geumsan, which provides 80 percent of Korea’s supply of the popular curative herb. Festival events include ginseng and herb cooking demonstrations, traditional folk performances and a ginseng trade fair. www.Geumsan.chungnam.kr

Yangyang Pine Mushroom Festival (October 1-5, 2004)
Visitors to this festival enjoy a hands-on experience of picking pine mushrooms on a working mushroom farm, accompanied by a professional pine mushroom guide. The festival features a home-stay program where people can experience Korea’s country life in autumn. www.yangyang-gun.gangwon.kr

Chungju World Martial Arts Festival (October 1-7, 2004)
A variety of martial arts performances from around the world, and a participation of more than 30 international martial arts groups are the highlight of this festival. www.cj100.net/english

Andong Mask Dance Festival (October 1-10, 2004)
One of Korea’s most representative festivals, the Mask Dance Festival features mask dance performances from around the world as well as traditional Korean fireworks. www.maskdance.com

Gimje Horizon Festival (October 7-10, 2004)
Korea’s only agricultural festival provides an overview of Korea’s traditional rural customs and culture. Festival events include a rice-harvesting demonstration, farm stay program, rice cooking contest, and a scarecrow-making event. www.egimje.net/eng

Busan Jagalchi Festival (October 13-17, 2004)
Korea’s largest seafood market is the home of this annual festival that highlights Korea’s fishing culture. A signature event is a free boat cruise allowing visitors to witness the spectacular seascapes around the Busan area. www.junggu.busan.kr.

To receive a free copy of the brochure Korea: Cultural Festivals 2004 (July-December), contact the Korea National Tourism Organization at 800/TOUR-KOR(ea) or to find more information about Korea’s varied festivals visit the website at www.tour2korea.com.