History
- Festival introduce
Origin The Origin of the Baekje Cultural Festival
A historical and cultural festival held annually since 1955
History of the Baekje Cultural Festival
Introduction stage (1955~1965) Held exclusively in Buyeo
From the first in 1955 to the 11th in 1965, it was held solely in Buyeo County. The main events of the time centered around the ancestral rites for the Three Loyal Sins, figures of Baekje's loyalty, and the Samcheon Palace Ladies Memorial Ceremony (Suryukjae). In addition to the ancestral rites, folk, artistic, and athletic competitions were also included.
As folk games, competitions such as Nongak, Chucheon (swing), archery, and wrestling were held, and as cultural and artistic events, a sijo contest, a Baekiljang, a Baekje Princess Selection Contest, and a costume parade were held. Excluding the ritual to honor the spirits of Baekje, it was a simple local event with the character of a comprehensive cultural and artistic festival rather than showing the characteristics of a Baekje cultural festival.
Although it started out as a purely private initiative, the number of events increased each year and public interest grew, gradually transforming into an event led by government agencies. This was to promote the development of the Baekje Cultural Festival by increasing the density of the event and smoothly supporting the required budget and manpower.
In particular, the 11th Baekje Cultural Festival, which was first held in 1965 under the name of the ‘Baekje Cultural Festival’, was held for three days from October 8, 1965, centered around rituals (Samchungje, Gungnyeoje, Eunsan Byeolsingut), folk games (archery, Nongak, wrestling, floating of lantern boats, swings), cultural and sports events (sports competition, Baekiljang, Sijo competition, comprehensive arts performance), and others (Baekje Princess Selection Contest, costume parade, lantern parade). President Park Chung-hee attended the opening ceremony, raising the status of the festival.
Settlement stage (1966~1978) Held simultaneously in Gongju and Buyeo
Since 1966, the Gongju region has also participated in the Baekje Cultural Festival, which was held simultaneously with Buyeo. The Gongju Baekje Cultural Festival began with the opening ceremony, the ‘Memorial Ceremony for the Five Kings of Baekje Restoration’ (Memorial Ceremony for the Four Kings of Baekje Restoration after 1971), the ‘Sabi Seongcheondo Torch Relay Ceremony’, and the lighting ceremony. During this period, the Baekje Cultural Festival began to see a noticeable increase in the number of secondary cultural events. In particular, in the Gongju region, the number of events, which had been no more than 10, expanded to around 40 by the late 1970s.
This is because, after the revitalization measures for the Baekje Cultural Festival were established in 1973, the ‘Baekje Cultural Festival Promotion Committee’ was established as an ordinance, and subsidies from the province and county were significantly provided, institutionalizing the system so that more than 80% of the budget could be subsidized from local government funds. However, many of the Baekje Cultural Festival events held simultaneously in Buyeo and Gongju had similar or overlapping characteristics, and it was burdensome for Buyeo and Gongju to prepare the events separately every year.
Meanwhile, for four years starting from the 21st (1975), the Baekje Cultural Festival was expanded to include Daejeon in addition to Gongju and Buyeo.
This was intended to heighten the excitement of the Baekje Cultural Festival throughout the entire Chungcheongnam-do region under the pretext of being the Grand Festival of Chungcheongnam-do, but criticism was raised that the Baekje Cultural Festival in Daejeon, which lacked the historical and symbolic significance of Baekje, was conducted as an exhibition-oriented event. Accordingly, the Daejeon hosting method was discontinued after the 24th (1978) event.
Development stage (1979~2006) Held biennial in Gongju and Buyeo
Starting with the 25th Baekje Cultural Festival in 1979, it was held in Gongju, and the following year, it was held in Buyeo, with a rotational system. That is, it was decided to hold the big festival and small festival alternately in Gongju in odd years and in Buyeo in even years. This biennial system was implemented to secure more preparation time and improve the level of the event both quantitatively and qualitatively. Since the 1980s, the number of festivals in Buyeo has expanded significantly to around 40, and in Gongju to around 71 to 100.
Globalization stage (2007~) Held Jointly in Gongju and Buyeo
Despite possessing excellent cultural resources, the Baekje Cultural Festival has been criticized for stagnating and failing to develop due to a lack of systematic development policies.
Accordingly, in order to foster the Baekje Cultural Festival as a world-class festival and make it a key axis for balanced development in the southern region during the 4th local government, the Baekje Cultural Festival, which had been held every other year in Gongju City and Buyeo County, was integrated into the festival. If the ‘simultaneous hosting of the Baekje Cultural Festival in Gongju and Buyeo’ (1966-1978) was a case where the Baekje Cultural Festival was held in each region without any unity, the ‘integrated hosting’ (2007-) means holding the festival simultaneously in both regions with unity. The Baekje Cultural Festival Promotion Committee (now the Baekje Cultural Festival Foundation) was established as an organization to host the ‘integrated event.’ Thus, the Baekje Cultural Festival has transformed from a government-led festival to a private-led festival, and has laid the foundation for not only the revitalization of the cultural festival through the voluntary participation of residents, but also the development of a world-class historical and cultural festival. The Baekje Cultural Festival has entered a new stage of development.
Beyond the festivalit contributes to spreading understanding and pride in the history and culture of Baekje.
The most notable change is the expansion of the festival budget. This increase—from 5.2 billion won in 2007, to 9 billion won in 2008, and 31.8 billion won for the 2010 World Baekje Festival—has enabled the production and staging of specialized, large-scale programs.
The period also increased from 5 days during the 53rd Baekje Cultural Festival to 9-10 days after the 54th Baekje Cultural Festival. As the program specializes in Baekje's history and culture and allows for the production of a variety of highly specialized programs, the Baekje Cultural Festival has been able to move beyond a regional festival and pursue an international and global strategy.
The 55th Baekje Cultural Festival (Predae Baekje Festival) in 2009 was an unprecedented event in which, with only one month remaining until the event due to the spread of the new flu, all large-scale events were inevitably canceled, with the exception of ceremonial events held independently by Gongju and Buyeo. However, based on the know-how accumulated since the 53rd Baekje Cultural Festival, the 2010 World Baekje Festival was successfully held.
The 2010 World Baekje Festival, held as a government-sanctioned international event for 30 days from September 18 to October 17, 2010, was considered one of the most successful festivals in the country, attracting 3.69 million visitors and generating an economic impact of KRW 249.9 billion.
The 57th Baekje Cultural Festival held in 2011 attracted 1.49 million visitors and generated an economic impact of 92 billion won, reaffirming its potential to become a world-class festival.
The 58th Baekje Cultural Festival held in 2012 with the subtitle ‘Revival of Baekje’s Dance and Music - Mimaji (味摩之)’ to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of the transmission of Baekje instrumental music of Mimaji to Japan, resulted in the formation of the ‘Mimaji Textbook Inclusion Promotion Committee’ and the inclusion of Mimaji-related content in high school textbooks.
The 59th Baekje Cultural Festival in 2013 was held under the subtitle “The World of the Gilt-Bronze Incense Burner” to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the excavation of the Baekje Gilt-Bronze Incense Burner (National Treasure No. 287). It attracted 1.6 million visitors and generated an economic ripple effect of 108 billion won.
The 60th Baekje Cultural Festival in 2014 was held on an international scale to commemorate the year of the 10th year of the reign of King Gapjeong. From September 26 to October 5, 106 programs were held under the theme of “Baekje! Meet the World - Ryu (流)·Heartiness·Style,” which served as an opportunity to widely publicize the festival as Korea’s representative historical and cultural festival both domestically and internationally.
On July 8, 2015, the Baekje Historic Areas were designated as Korea's 12th World Heritage Site, marking a new era for the Baekje Cultural Festival. The Baekje Cultural Festival has transformed into a festival that widely promotes the excellence of the Baekje Historic Areas and Baekje culture both domestically and internationally.
The 61st Baekje Cultural Festival was held under the theme of “Baekje Reborn,” the 62nd Baekje Cultural Festival under the theme of “Baekje! Embracing the World,” and the 63rd Baekje Cultural Festival under the theme of “Meet Baekje, the Origin of the Korean Wave.” In addition, the 64th Baekje Cultural Festival was held under the theme and subtitle of ‘Enjoying Baekje, the Origin of the Korean Wave - Baekje’s Dance and Song’, and the 65th Baekje Cultural Festival was held under the theme and subtitle of ‘Enjoying Baekje, the Origin of the Korean Wave - Baekje’s Food, Clothing, and Shelter’. The goal is to highlight Baekje as the ‘origin of the Korean Wave’ from various perspectives through the Baekje Cultural Festival, thereby establishing it as a ‘cultural powerhouse in ancient East Asia.’
The Baekje Cultural Festival goes beyond a mere festival to contribute significantly to spreading understanding and pride in Baekje's proud history and culture, and is emerging as a specialized cultural resource.
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