▲ Folk festival of the Gijisi Juldarigi

A folk festival of the Gijisi Juldarigi was held for four days from April 7 at a space near the Gijisi Juldarigi Museum in Songak-eup, Dangjin. The pastime has been handed down for over 500-plus years in Gijisi Village to build friendship among locals, drive away evil spirits, and pray for good crops. In 1982, it was designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 75.

Following its registration with UNESCO as Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2015, the juldarigi captured the limelight this year. Held during the festival were a ceremony for handing over the certification for the UNESCO registration, a meeting of the council of cities with UNESCO intangible heritage objects , and a juldarigi contest among teams from across the country, to the delight of visitors.

The rope used for the event is a specially made one with diameter of 1m and weight of 40 tons.

Officials of the local government of Dangdong, China and foreign envoys in Korea, who visited the event venue to offer their congratulations on the UNESCO registration of the pastime, expressed surprise at the enormity of the rope size.

The juldarigi contest held on the third day of the festival was spectacular with all spectators cheering the losers on, creating a warm atmosphere.

On the last day of the event, ten thousand-plus locals and visitors had an opportunity to take part in competitions, and they were divided into two teams to go out, ending the event on a high note.

Participants could now keep in mind Gijisi Juldarigi Festival’s real virtue of building friendship among locals regardless of winning or losing and wishing for prosperity and harmony, vowing to come back for next year’s contest.

The certification for the UNESCO registration will be displayed at the Gijisi Juldarigi Museum.