Some Daegu city officials speculate that the decision to deploy a THAAD missile battery on the Korean peninsula may have been behind Qingdao’s decision to skip Daegu’s Chicken and Beer Festival. (image: Yonhap)
DAEGU, July 26 (Korea Bizwire) – While the Daegu Chicken and Beer Festival is scheduled to kick off on July 27 in Duryu Park, Daegu’s sister city Qingdao, located in Shandong Province, China, announced on July 19 that it would not be participating in this year’s festival.
A total of 70 delegations from China, including the cities of Ningbo, Yiwu, and Chengdu, are set to join citizens of Daegu, while other cities have yet to confirm their participation.
The city of Qingdao also requested that Daegu city mayor Kwon Young-jin postpone a Korean delegation’s visit to the Qingdao International Beer Festival. Korean representatives including mayor Kwon and 80 industry officials planned on visiting the city next month. Some Korean companies were to set up a 660 square-meter booth at the beer festival.
The two cities – Daegu and Qingdao – agreed earlier this year to partake in each other’s major festivals.
Some Daegu city officials speculate that the decision to deploy a THAAD missile battery on the Korean peninsula may have been behind Qingdao’s decision to skip Daegu’s Chicken and Beer Festival.
“The Chinese government informed us that it was not an appropriate time to make a visit. We will also send some of our staff to Qingdao to get a grasp of the situation,” said a Daegu city official.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
