CHUNCHEON, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The Chuncheon Puppet Festival, a cornerstone of cultural life in this Gangwon Province city, is poised to captivate audiences for its 36th year.
The week-long celebration of puppetry arts will run from August 29 to September 4, transforming the city’s theaters and streets into stages for marionettes, hand puppets, and their skilled manipulators.
Recognized as the largest puppet festival in Asia, this year’s event will feature over 100 performances by more than 40 domestic troupes and international teams from seven countries, including Israel, Italy, Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and Brazil.
The festival’s signature event, the Puppet Carnival street parade, is scheduled for September 1. Embracing this year’s slogan, “Hold Hands with Puppets,” approximately 500 puppeteers will march 1.2 kilometers from Palho Square to Chuncheon City Hall Plaza, bringing the festival’s energy to the city’s streets.
Throughout the week, performances will take place in both indoor and outdoor venues. On September 2, the festival will host Coco Market, a puppet arts marketplace featuring 18 domestic and international puppet troupes with over 40 participants.
Adding to the festival’s nocturnal allure, the Cocobau Night Festival will offer evening programming centered around four distinct themes, providing opportunities for audience interaction with puppeteers after dark.
The festival will conclude on September 4 with a teaser performance for next year’s highly anticipated 24th UNIMA Congress & World Puppetry Festival Chuncheon, scheduled for May 2025.
Hong Yong-min, the festival’s secretary general, expressed enthusiasm for this year’s diverse offerings. “Beyond the variety of puppet performances from home and abroad, we’ve prepared special experiential and curated programs to offer our audience novel forms of enjoyment,” Hong said. “We’re committed to immersing our visitors in the captivating world of puppet theater.”
Image credit: The Chuncheon Puppet Festival, Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
