PYEONGCHANG, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – “The hillsides are blanketed with buckwheat fields, and the flowers beginning to bloom are so breathtaking in the tender moonlight, it’s as if salt has been sprinkled across the landscape.”
This vivid description, penned by the late author Lee Hyo-seok in his renowned short story “When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom,” will soon come to life as the Pyeongchang Hyoseok Cultural Festival prepares to open its gates.
From September 6 to 15, the Lee Hyo-seok Cultural Village in Bongpyeong-myeon, the setting of Lee’s iconic work, will transform into a celebration of literature and gastronomy.
The festival, now in its 2024 edition, invites visitors to immerse themselves in what organizers call “intellectual luxury in Pyeongchang.”
At the heart of the event lies a sprawling 15,000 square meters of buckwheat fields, their delicate white blossoms creating a mesmerizing backdrop.
As the flowers reach their peak bloom, festival preparations are in full swing, promising a fusion of natural beauty and cultural richness.
This year’s theme, “Literature and Gastronomy,” will be explored through six experiential spaces.
Visitors can look forward to celebrity book readings, guided literary walks with storytellers, a journey along the “Jangdolbaengi-gil” (peddler’s path) with the author Song Il-bong, as well as the Hyoseok Literary Forum.
Adding a new dimension to the festivities, the inaugural Modern Theater Festival will debut this year.
Street performances by various artists amid the buckwheat fields promise to transform the entire Bongpyeong area into a vibrant cultural stage.
“We hope visitors will find healing for their heat-weary bodies and minds in the lyrical landscape of Bongpyeong, the very setting that inspired ‘When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom,’” a Pyeongchang County official said on August 26.
Image credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
