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| ▲ On the morning of the 11th, when the Nonsan Strawberry Festival is in full swing, the festival venue around Nonsan Citizens' Park in South Chungcheong Province is crowded with tourists who came to taste strawberries. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ On the morning of the 11th, when the Nonsan Strawberry Festival is in full swing, a mother visits the festival venue in Nonsan Citizens' Park, South Chungcheong Province, and is experiencing making strawberry cakes with her daughter. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ On the morning of the 11th, when the Nonsan Strawberry Festival is in full swing, the festival venue around Nonsan Citizens' Park in South Chungcheong Province is crowded with tourists who came to taste strawberries. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ On the morning of the 11th, when the Nonsan Strawberry Festival is in full swing, strawberries for sale are piled up at the festival venue in Nonsan Civic Park, South Chungcheong Province. (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 12
(Yonhap) – The Nonsan Strawberry Festival, which was held for the first time in
four years due to the COVID-19 incident, was filled with visitors who rushed
their steps from the morning as if they had been looking forward to the day on
Saturday.
In the warm
spring weather, when the daytime high temperature rose to 25 degrees Celsius,
visitors gathered in groups of family, lovers, and friends lost track of time
to taste sweet seasonal strawberries and have various experiences.
Strawberry
harvesting, cake and jam making, strawberry pots, and strawberry nail art
experiences dominated the popularity of parents who visited with young
children.
Kim Young-ji (39,
Jeonju) said, "I thought my daughter would be bored, but I didn't know she
would make the cake this seriously," adding, "I like the ingredients
such as strawberries and whipped cream because they are fresh."
Park Se-joon (43,
Sejong), who challenged strawberry rice cake making, said with a smile, "I
tried to do it with my 6-year-old son, but my son could not pick up rice cake because
he was too young."
A strawberry
store on one side of the festival venue was also crowded with people trying to
buy freshly harvested strawberries.
Park Ji-yoon (34,
Seoul), who bought five boxes of strawberries, said, "Strawberries are
thick and sweet, but they are much cheaper than Seoul," adding,
"Garaetteok, Injeolmi, and makgeolli made with strawberries are also sweet
and fragrant."
In particular,
Nonsan City's "See Helicopter, Ride Helicopter" program with the Army
Aviation School during the festival caught the attention of visitors of all
ages.
The helicopter
ride experience, which departs from the banks of Nonsancheon stream and tours
Tapjeongho Lake, Gyeryongsan Mountain, and Geumgang River for about 20 minutes,
flew in the sky with more than 300 visitors so far.
Yang Dong-joon
(15, Seoul), who was waiting for the boarding experience, said, "I'm a
little nervous," adding, "I hope to be a pilot in the future, so it's
cool to see Surion helicopter in person."
Meanwhile, from
the morning of the weekend, the entrance road to the Nonsan Civic Stadium, the
festival venue, caused severe traffic jam, causing inconvenience to visitors.
A tourist from
Seoul said, "There were so many cars that I decided to park far and take a
circular bus, but I waited for the bus for an hour and a half," and
pointed out, "The traffic flow is so bad."
Another tourist
also said, "It is no use for public officials and police to manage
traffic. "It was so crowded that I thought I was on my way home during the
holiday," he said.
Nonsan City has announced
that it will further increase parking areas and reinforce circulation buses
during the weekend.
An official from
Nonsan City said, "More tourists than expected have visited, so traffic congestion
has continued," adding, "We will open parking lots in 11 places in
the city and add two parking lots for the Konyang University and Ganggyeong
Salted Seafood Festival by the 12th, the last day of the festival."
(This article is
translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho)
(END)
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