[Edaily Kang Gyeong-rok Travel Reporter] While the government is significantly increasing its budget and expanding support for the globalization of regional festivals, critics on the ground point out that “head-count-based” promotion strategies—which rely solely on visitor numbers—have reached their limits. Analysts argue that it is urgent to move beyond quantitative achievements, such as attracting foreign tourists, and instead focus on securing self-sustainability through “stay-based governance”—which encourages local lodging and spending—and the establishment of overseas distribution networks in advance.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expanded the number of supported events from three—including the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival, the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, and the Incheon Pentaport Music Festival—to six this year, following the success of these existing global festivals, which attracted 130,000 foreign visitors last year alone. The new additions include the Boryeong Mud Festival, the Andong International Mask Dance Festival, and the Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival. The total budget for supporting cultural and tourism festivals, including global festivals, has also been significantly expanded from 6.5 billion won last year to 10.4 billion won this year, and support is being strengthened through measures such as the launch of a joint planning team to develop travel packages linked to overseas trips.
A common trait among these successful festivals is that they integrated their unique, irreplaceable content with overseas private distribution networks in advance. The Haman Nakhwa Nori Festival in South Gyeongsang Province, which is not included on the government’s support list, partnered with 26 Japanese travel agencies to pre-sell 35 different tour packages, attracting 1,500 Japanese tourists this month alone. The Hwacheon Mountain Trout Festival and the Boryeong Mud Festival have also secured stable distribution networks by establishing partnerships with overseas online travel agencies (OTAs) and dedicated reservation systems.
Oh Je-yeol, CEO of Culture Sharing Warehouse, stated at the “2026 Yeoncheon Global Festival Strategy Forum” held in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, on the 22nd, “For festivals to succeed, we urgently need a planning environment that moves away from nationwide, standardized events and cultivates signature programs that bring to life the region’s unique history and culture.” Just as K-pop and K-dramas have established themselves as global industries thanks to the challenges taken on by creators and the production and distribution systems that supported them, regional festivals must also move beyond organizing one-off events and create a structure that continuously accumulates planning expertise within their internal organizations.

Advance reservations and distribution systems were identified as key tasks for converting unique content into tangible tourism revenue. Na Min, CEO of Wonderful Travel, explained, “Overseas travel agencies typically begin planning packages six months before an event,” adding, “To ensure sales can begin at least three to four months in advance, product volumes and reservation/cancellation conditions must be finalized early in the planning stage and supplied to overseas distribution networks.”
The need to establish a dedicated organization to maintain a stable distribution network and contract expertise was also raised. Professor Heo Jun of Dongduk Women’s University analyzed, “Only by overcoming the frequent rotational assignment structure for civil servants and establishing a sustainable, expert-led dedicated organization can the festival’s overseas marketing experience and business network be preserved as assets.”
The government’s performance evaluation metrics also need to be refined to focus on “overnight consumption” and “revitalization of local commercial districts.” According to a survey of visitors to the 2025 Yeoncheon Paleolithic Festival released by Professor Heo, 67.8% of respondents left after staying for half a day or less. This suggests that, beyond simply increasing visitor numbers, governance aimed at encouraging overnight stays—leading to local lodging and spending—must be further strengthened.
Professor Heo “We must move beyond the competition to earn the title of a ‘global festival’ and instead firmly build the festival’s fundamental foundation—including a dedicated organization, professional staff, and a data analysis system,” he emphasized. “K-festivals can achieve true globalization only when we shift the policy framework toward creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem that transfers the operational experience and overseas marketing know-how of selected festivals to non-selected ones, and fosters the self-sustaining capacity to market their own content even after government support ends.”