[Rediscovery of the local] The spark that chased away bad luck came with ‘K-content’… Haman Nakhwa Festival that captivates the world

(Haman = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-min = At ​​dusk, conservation members wearing white pants and jackets and hoods cross the quiet pond in small rowboats and light thousands of fallen flower sticks hanging on ropes one by one with torches.

Soon, tens of thousands of red fireworks flutter like flower petals over the pond, creating a spectacle like a watercolor painting.

Every time the embers that dance in the wind land on the surface of the water, visitors exclaim in awe and are busy taking pictures of the rain of fireworks that embellish the night sky with their cell phone cameras.

This is the scene of the 'Haman Nakhwa Play (Japan Special)', an intangible cultural heritage of Gyeongnam Province, held for about 1,500 Japanese tourists at the Mujinjeong Pond in the area of ​​Mujinjeong (Gyeongnam tangible cultural heritage) in Goesan-ri, Haman-myeon, Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do on the 15th.

A folk game that was once used to ward off bad luck in a village and pray for a good harvest, has now been reborn as Korea's representative 'K-Fireworks Show' visited by people from all over the world.

As the event became known through the media and social networking services (SNS), it became popular enough to attract a crowd approaching the entire population of the county. Now, the event, which was held only on Buddha's Birthday every year, has been expanded and foreign charter buses are flocking to the area to revitalize the region as a global tourism product.

This popularity was also cited at government meetings as a representative example of local tourism success.

At the '2026 National Tourism Strategy Meeting' chaired by President Lee Jae-myeong in February this year, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young reported, "When we made Nakhwanori, a local festival in Haman, Gyeongsangnam-do, into a travel product and introduced it to Japan, 1,000 people visited through Gimhae Airport."

◇ Traditional fireworks containing the wisdom of our ancestors… Riding the media to ‘K-content’

Haman Nakhwa Nori is a traditional folk game that involves hanging a ‘Nakhwabong’ made by wrapping oak charcoal powder in Korean paper and twisting it on a string and lighting it on fire.

Unlike Western-style firecrackers that use gunpowder, the soft light and crackling sound made by burning charcoal powder harmonize with the melody of Korean traditional music to maximize the Korean atmosphere.

It is said that during the reign of King Seonjo of the Joseon Dynasty in the 16th century, Haman County Governor Jeong Gu (鄭逑) started it to pray for the well-being of the residents and a good harvest. In the 'Haman Chongsaerok' written by Oh Hyeong-muk, the governor of the late Joseon Dynasty, there is a record that a large-scale falling flower festival was held on the first day of April.

It was lost during the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War, but it was restored by the Goehang Village Youth Association in 1960, and in 2008, it was designated as an intangible cultural heritage of Gyeongnam Province, the first among domestic fire dances.

The Nakhwa Play, which has been held every two to five years since its reenactment in 1960, has been held every year since 1985 with financial support from the Haman Cultural Center and Haman County.

The patented technique of making Nakhwabong is still 100% handmade.

33 preservation members in their 50s to 80s spend more than a month at each event, creating each piece by hand.

Ahn Byeong-guk, secretary general of the Haman Nakhwa Preservation Association, said, "The production process is arduous, but I feel great pride as traditional culture becomes known to the world through SNS and news, attracts foreigners, revitalizes the region, and generates profits."

Before 2020, when it was not held due to COVID-19, it was a small-scale local event, but it made a mark on the public through the entertainment show '2 Days & 1 Night' in 2021 and the drama 'Red Single Heart' in 2022.

Subsequently, it appeared in mass media, including BTS RM's 'Wildflower Viewing' music video and various dramas, and reached a decisive turning point through media reports and social media.

As the video of the fireworks spread quickly through social media, word of mouth spread among young people and foreigners that it was a ‘K-fireworks show you must see before you die.’

◇ The paralysis of ‘50,000 people’ was an opportunity for innovation… ‘1 minute cut’ reservation system and paid system established

Explosive popularity was accompanied by growing pains.

At the time of the public event in May 2023, right after the endemic, about 50,000 people gathered at once, more than twice the expected number of 20,000.

As a crowd of people equivalent to the entire population of Haman-gun at the time (about 61,000 people) poured in, roads and communications in the area were paralyzed, leading to a crisis of 'overtourism'. In the end, the county governor issued an official apology.

With this opportunity, the military turned the crisis into an opportunity.

By first introducing the advance reservation system in 2024, limiting the number of people for the main event (2 times, 7,000 people per event) on Buddha's Birthday to 14,000 people and significantly increasing temporary parking lots and shuttle buses, the crowded site was transformed into an orderly festival site.

As ticket scarcity increases due to limited number of people, reservations for public events are sold out every year, continuing the so-called 'one-minute cut' record.

Based on the main event, about 6,500 people last year and 5,800 this year enjoyed the festival in a pleasant environment.

Instead of limiting the number of people at the main event, the scope was expanded by creating small-scale 'travel products' and foreigner-only events throughout the year.

In 2024, in addition to the main event, we operated five travel packages (approximately 2,200 people) and the first Japanese group tour (October, 450 people), attracting a total of 16,231 people per year.

Last year, in addition to the main event (1 time, 6,500 people), 6 travel products (3,117 people) were operated, with a total of 9,617 people visiting. Special events for Taiwanese (September, 304 people) and Japanese (October, 980 people) were also held one after another.

This year, 12,420 people attended, including 5,800 at the main event.

In particular, the '2026 Haman Fall Flower Festival' held last July proved its potential as a high-value tourism product by introducing a 'paid reserved seat system' of 10,000 to 30,000 won.

The secret to its unrivaled popularity lies in the unrivaled spectacle of 3,500 to 4,000 fallen fireworks burning and flying for nearly two hours each time.

The rope hanging from the falling flower pole and the water surface of the pond are about 3 meters high, so the fireworks pouring down on the water and the red light projected on the water come together to create a fantastic scenery.

A Haman-gun official boasted, "The combination of the dusky night sky, the wind, the sound of crackling charcoal dust, and the embers reflected in the pond is the pinnacle of artistic beauty that Koreans have created over a long period of time."

◇ From a one-day event on Buddha’s Birthday to a year-round global festival… People from all over the world visit one after another

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Tourism Organization, Gyeongnam Province, and Haman-gun are expanding the Nakhwa Festival, which was held once a year on Buddha's Birthday, into a year-round tourism product.

Starting in 2024, it received a positive response by operating products specialized for Japan and Taiwan, and was selected as a '2025 Korean Tourism Star' and a regional tourism promotion organization (DMO) last year.

It was also selected for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's '2026 Large-scale Korean Wave Comprehensive Event Link Contest Project' and secured 280 million won in government funds.

Last July, along with the Nakhwa Festival, a K-pop and Korean traditional music crossover festival was held, attracting 710 foreigners from 32 countries, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States.

The number of visitors continued in the fall, and an event was held for about 1,500 Japanese tourists on the 15th.

Participants toured Malsan Ancient Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, during the day and enjoyed the Nakhwa Festival at night.

Japanese female tourists in their 50s and 60s who met at the Nakhwa Play site praised it, saying, “It was much better in person than I thought.”

A tourist who visited two years in a row laughed and said, “I was happy that the OST from the movie ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, which is familiar to Japanese people, was played, but the guest greeting was a bit long.”

However, the lack of tourism infrastructure such as restaurants, lodging, and parking, as well as the commercial district limited to event venues, are challenges.

Haman County Mayor Cha Seok-ho said, “We have established ourselves as a national level Korean Wave content that can be expanded globally by securing stability and quality through the reservation system and seating system,” and added, “We will grow Haman into a key base for global night tourism through systematic commercialization and infrastructure linkage.”