Culture ministry to stage DMZ Peace Festa in September

The culture ministry said it will stage the inaugural DMZ Peace Festa in September in Ganghwa County in Incheon and Cheorwon County in Gangwon to connect fragmented tourism resources near the DMZ. The festival was designed to link programs organized separately by local governments, develop joint business models and identify sustainable DMZ tourism resources.

The festival will run Sept. 12-13 in Ganghwa and Sept. 26-27 in Cheorwon.

Programs will revolve around nature and ecology, local residents' stories, and reflection and healing.

In Ganghwa, visitors can join sunrise meditation and yoga at Hwagae Observatory or walk a DMZ fence route while collecting sounds of nature. The program will also include a nonalcoholic cocktail-making activity reinterpreting the lives of displaced people.

Cheorwon's program will include media-art-linked street performances and a disco event, as well as a stay-oriented backpacking trip with Soyisan as a backdrop. A motorcycle tour of Cheorwon security sites, organized with BMW, will continue during October's DMZ Visit Month, when visitors will be offered integrated discount passes.

"This year's DMZ Peace Festa will help turn the DMZ, a symbol of division and pain, into a space for nature, life and healing," Kang Dong-jin, the culture ministry's tourism policy director, said. "We hope the event will offer domestic and international visitors a different kind of healing and inspiration."

"With various international events, including the 2027 Chungcheong Summer World University Games, to be held in South Korea next year, we will continue support to promote the tourism appeal of border areas to people around the world," Kang added.