Pyeongchang Highland Kimchi-Making Festival Sets Records with 60,000 Visitors
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
The 2025 Pyeongchang Highland Kimjang Festival (chair: Jang Moon-hyuk) concluded after 13 days with a record ~60,000 visitors and 3 billion KRW in sales. Organizers credited growth to tasty kimchi, convenient hands-on experiences for novices, and friendly local hosts. Services included instruction on mixing kimchi and delivering finished jars to visitors' cars. Pyeongchang County declared November 11 as “Kimjang Day” and plans to link the festival and the kimchi industry to boost local agriculture, jobs, and tourism. This year’s improvements included a new 1,768 m² large tented experience space and use of the Pyeongchang Trout Performance Center, enabling over 600 people per hour to make kimchi; local traditional foods were also popular. Most vegetables used—napa cabbage, radish, and green onions—were grown in Pyeongchang highlands, and 150–250 local residents helped run the event daily. Festival chair Jang said this marks a start toward turning kimjang (the communal kimchi-making tradition) into an industry, with plans for expanded programs and local product-based content.
