It’s an easy stroll up Gongju’s main street to the Tourist Information Booth. The booth is at the foot of the hillock and on top stands Gongsanseong, (fortress) which has good views of the Geumgang ( river). If you go past the booth and just before the steel arched Geumgang Bridge, you’ll come across a sculpture of a bear ( or what I assume to be Woongsin, the bear goddess) as this town also hosts the annual Gomanaru Festival between July and August to commemorate a legend of a tragic relationship between a bear and human. A shrine was built to appease the restless spirit of the she-bear and the old name for Gongju is Ungjin meaning "Bear Port".Another more important festival held in Gongju every other year is the Baekje Cultural Festival ( if it’s not in Gongju, Buyeo will play host). The tourist brochure says it’s one of the three greatest cultural festivals in the country. With around 90 events, including a parade, memorial rites for important figures from the Baekje period and cultural art events, 9-12 October seems to be a great time to visit the town. Unfortunately, I arrive later in the month so have to be content with the usual sights.
I’m even too late to witness the changing of guard ceremony at Wungjinseong on the fortress grounds. This solemn reenactment with colourful banners and costumes is based on research of ancient Baekje traditions. It’s held from April to early October, every hour between 2 pm and 9 pm on weekends ( except the rainy season in the summer months of July and August).
Too late for the festivals and ceremonies, too early for the autumn foliage at their best. Sigh. But at least I can join the Gongju City Tour - more on this in the next posting!
Sources:
Tourist brochure from Gongju City Hall Dept of Culture and Tourism
http://www.baekje.org/html/en/index.html
https://www.gongju.go.kr/html/en/festival/festival_01.html
