Mayor Oh Seung-hwan of the Dangjin City cordially invites the ambassadors and madams

By Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik, Reporter Soobin Kim

The Dangjin City of the Chuncheongnam-do Province on the West Coast, some 50 miles south of Seoul or a little over two hours’ run by car from Seoul, hosts the famed annual Dangjin Tug-of-War Festival on April 11-14 this year.

And, again, Mayor Oh Seung-hwan of the Dangjin City cordially invites the ambassadors and madams to visit the City and sample one of the important traditional cultures of Korea, the Dangjin Tug of War, as well as the traditional hospitality of the local people (the ‘real Koreans’), through actual participation in the cultural event.

Many ambassadors and madams have added grace to the festival making the mayor and the citizens of the city happy, as follows:

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There will also be the National UNESCO Tug of War Fair and the National Sports Tug of War Competition.

Mayor Oh said: "The big rope for the Gijisi Tug of War Festival, the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is made with the help of many people of the city and guests from other localities of the country.

The Gijisi Tug-of-War Festival Committee has already completed the production of an extremely long and large rope used for the most popular traditional game of the Republic of Korea.

Seeing is believing!

Please visit:

https://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=912

https://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=503

https://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1253

And follow the suit of the Ambassadors and Madams who enjoyed the traditional Korean culture and hospitality in the Dangjin City this year again?

Making the big rope for the Gijisi Tug of War Festival. The Gijisj Tug of War Preservation Society has been making 6,000 straw ropes every day since March 26, with 20 people participating in the process. 

On March 12, they took out and assembled the Female Rope and on March 13, they wove 70 strands of small ropes to make six medium ropes, and on March 14, they used the medium ropes to make the large rope.

The big rope is being made for the 2024 Gijisi Tug of War Festival. 

By the end of the month, the head, side, and nipple ropes will be added to the big rope to complete the tug-of-war rope for the festival. The finished ropes will be enormous, each weighing 20 tons and measuring 100 meters long and 1 meter in diameter.

Mayor Oh Sung-hwan of the Dangjin City said: "The big rope for the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Gijisi Tug of War Festival was made with the help of many people.” Then he said: “I hope that many tourists will visit the 2024 Gijisi Tug of War Festival and feel the charm of the Gijisi Tug of War, which is listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity."

Meanwhile, this year's Gijisi Tug of War Folk Festival will be held from April 11 to 14 at the Gijisi Tug of War Museum in Songak-eup, Dangjin City and will feature a variety of events, including the National UNESCO Tug of War Fair and the National Sports Tug of War Competition.

Here are excerpts from the remarks of Mayor Oh Sung-hwan introducing his city:

My name is Oh Sung-hwan, Mayor of the Dangjin City.

I whole heartedly welcome all the distinguished guests from within Korea and abroad to visit our city and join our Tug-of-War Festival.

We will do our best to achieve our cherished goal, 'Dangjin's Great Leap Forward’ through economic recovery and various other activities.

I believe that true citizen happiness starts with a stable and sustainable economy, expanding social safety nets and welfare, and laying the foundation for a rich cultural life.

I will continue to work with both feet to ensure that Dangjin's economy recovers and takes a great leap forward.

We will create a happy and healthy Dangjin that everyone can enjoy together.

Throughout the entire period of the 8th civil administration, the Dangjin City Government will do its best to provide a solid welfare administration that accompanies citizens, where no one is left out but everyone receives help from the administration.

We will create a 'luxury city’ with culture, sports, and tourism.

We will complete a high-quality cultural city where 170,000 Dangjin citizens can be moved and inspired by culture.

We will do everything in our power to protect and promote the cultural values of Dangjin to comfort and unite the hearts of the citizens and make Dangjin a City of Romance.

We will do our utmost to further foster the tourism industry of and make it a luxury tourist city representing the West Coast.

We will create a livable blue Dangjin.

I believe that population influx and growth in Dangjin are possible only when all aspects of our administrations, including housing, culture, education, welfare and transportation are combined in a complex manner.

To this end, we will create a luxury lake park, enhance the city brand by improving Dangjin's skyline, and create a pleasant living environment by providing a place for citizens to meet and relax.

We will create a competitive and abundant agricultural region.

Dangjin's agricultural specialties are not only popular in the Chungnamam-do province but also on the tables of all the entire people of Korea and all the peoples of the world.

In order to respond to the changing rural environment and provide realistic support for balanced rural-urban development, we will expand investment in R&D and improve rural industrial infrastructure and distribution structures to create a prosperous rural area.