Gimje: Where the sky meets the earth

Korea is known for its mountainous terrain and tight and compact cityscapes. When the week comes to a close, we all want some refuge -- somewhere relaxing where no cars, forests of skyscrapers, or human traffic can be seen.

The city of Gimje in North Jeolla Province is such a place where the "sky meets the earth" and the municipality proudly advertises this.

It is in fact the only place in the nation where visitors can see the horizon as far as the eye can see with no mountains in sight.

In order to capitalize on this very non-Korean landscape, the Gimje Horizon Festival was conceived by city officials to boost tourism.

This year, the festival marks its 11th year and will take place on Oct. 10 and 11. The event will celebrate rice and feature various hands-on activities available to visitors such as rice harvesting, traditional rice cooking, handicrafts, grasshopper hunting and kite-flying. Other spectator events like a tour of the area during the golden hour sunset, a human scarecrow performance, and showcase of traditional agriculture of the world will take place.

Awareness of the festival by foreign residents in Korea has been boosted with the help of the International Friendship Club -- a non-profit NGO that promotes cross-cultural exchange among foreigners in Korea.

Participation at the Gimje Jipyeongseon (Horizon) Festival is free with the IFC`s sponsorship of the event.

For more information, contact IFC by visiting their official website at www.ifckorea.com or by phoning (02) 736-3003.

(kws@heraldm.com)



By Song Woong-ki