Boeun-gun plans to hold the 17th National Folk Cow Strength Competition during the Jujube Festival

This year, the Jujube Festival will be held again, and animal protection groups are expected to picket signs in protest.

(Boeun = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Byeong-gi = Amidst the ongoing controversy over animal abuse surrounding the bull strength competition (bull fighting), Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province, will hold the '17th Boeun National Folk Bull Strength Competition' from the 16th to the 20th of this month.

Boeun County and the Boeun Branch of the Korean Folk Beef Power Competition Association announced on the 6th that they will hold this event at the Bocheong Stream Stadium during this period in line with the '2026 Boeun Jujube Festival'.

According to the notice of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, only 11 local governments across the country can hold the beef strength competition, and Boeun-gun is the only one in the Chungcheong region.

Since Boeun-gun held its first competition in 2007, the event has been held every year except during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is because it is believed that it has a great effect in attracting tourists every year and also contributes to the promotion of ‘Songnisan Korean beef’, the local Korean beef brand.

However, animal protection groups are calling for an end to this event, calling it animal abuse.

The 'National Action to Abolish Animal Abuse and Bullfighting', comprised of the Green Party and animal protection groups, recently requested the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Assembly to quickly pass a bill to abolish bullfighting, and is continuing its activities calling for the suspension of the event.

An official from this organization said, "Among the 11 notification regions across the country, bullfighting is gradually coming to a halt, with Jeongeup-si, Wanju-gun, Gimhae-si, Hamyang-gun, Dalseong-gun, and Cheongdo-gun not allocating budgets for this year's event," adding, "We are planning a picketing protest at the event site to protest Boeun-gun's budget support and push for the competition."

Boeun County will provide 220 million won for this competition this year.

A military official explained, "We are not ignorant of the claims of animal protection groups, but we must also consider the aspects of passing on traditional culture and revitalizing the economy. This year, we will have a veterinarian present, stop the game immediately if a cow is injured, and strictly limit sharpening horns."

Meanwhile, livestock groups in the Boeun region held a press conference in December last year and claimed, "The bull power competition is a legacy of agricultural culture passed down from generation to generation, and it needs to be held continuously in order to revitalize the local economy and inherit traditional culture."