Gimje Horizon Festival offers glimpse of rural Korean life

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- A five-day festival offering a glimpse of life in rural
Korea opens Friday in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, against the beautiful
backdrop of the Honam plain, the largest grain-producing region in Korea,
organizers said Thursday.
Programs will include harvesting rice, kite-making and flying, folk games and a
temple stay at the ancient Geumsan Temple.
For foreign visitors the festival offers a rare opportunity to learn about
traditional Korean culture, with one or two night stays in local farmers' homes,
Geumsan Temple or a local Confucian school called "Hakseong Gangdang."
The festival program offers an exciting opportunity to experience firsthand
Korea's traditional methods of harvesting rice -- from reaping, thrashing and
milling to whitening and polishing.
Visitors will also have a chance to taste local delicacies as well as
traditional cuisines from Japan, China and Southeast Asian countries.
Those staying in the Confucian academy will learn about the austere lifestyle of
scholars of old Korea and learn basic Chinese characters as well as Korean
traditional etiquette and the tea ceremony.
Gimje, where "the sky meets the earth," is known for its vast rice paddies fed by
the Seomjin River. The region has become a major center for farming and rural
culture.
For more information, visit the festival's Web site at
http://festival.gimje.go.kr or call 063-540-3031.
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