연합뉴스
| yna@yna.co.kr 2026-04-24 07:29:57
GOYANG, South Korea, April 24 (Yonhap) -- The 18th Goyang International Flower Festival, featuring 100 million flowers, opened Friday at Ilsan Lake Park in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, set to run through May 10.
First launched in 1997, it has attracted more than 9 million visitors from home and abroad as of last year, establishing itself as the city’s signature event.
Under the theme “Flowers color time,” this year’s festival fills a 250,000-square-meter venue with outdoor exhibitions, indoor special displays, performances, events and a flower market.
The outdoor exhibition has been redesigned as an interactive space where visitors can stay and participate, enhancing immersion in the theme. The main plaza, “Garden of Time Travelers,” presents a time-travel station concept using flowers as a medium, featuring installations inspired by traditional Korean astronomical instruments, along with sundials and water clocks.
A large installation measuring 13 meters in height and 26 meters in width features rotating spherical floral structures symbolizing the passage of time.
Gardens themed around emotional stability and healing through flowers and plants are also available. The “Garden of Emotional Temperature” encourages visitors to express their feelings through flowers and colors, incorporating MBTI and personalized color concepts, while the “Flower Therapy Garden” offers a natural landscape and relaxation space blending with existing trees.
Visitors can also take part in hands-on healing programs, such as planting companion plants.
Various special programs are held throughout the festival. The “Rose Festa” garden features experiential zones and performances, while a “rotation blind date” event offers opportunities for young participants to meet in a flower-themed setting.
A picnic-themed space centered on a 5-meter-tall inflatable figure of EBS character Pengsoo is also set up, with a meet-and-greet event scheduled for May 1.
The indoor horticulture exchange hall hosts the global exhibition “Floral Odyssey,” featuring five artists from five countries under the theme “Colors of Memory.”
About 30 countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Indonesia, are participating, showcasing rare flowers such as the frost-like “Elsa tulip,” giant dahlias over 15 centimeters in diameter and 1.2-meter-long “giant roses.”
The horticulture industry hall displays more than 200 new flower varieties from both domestic and overseas sources.
Various competitions are scheduled on the indoor stage, including the Preserved Flower Cup on April 26, the Korean Flower Arrangement Contest on April 30, the IHK Cup Flower Design Competition from May 2-3, and children’s and amateur flower arrangement contests on May 5.
Performances will be held across three stages, featuring a range of genres such as pop music, trot, vocal music, flute and cheerleading, along with a senior fashion show.
A floating flower bicycle experience is also available near the waterfront stage during the festival period.
Meanwhile, the Goyang Flower Market near Hanul Plaza offers flowers directly grown by about 30 local farms, along with agricultural products and unique items.
Goyang Mayor Lee Dong-hwan said the festival has significantly expanded interactive content that allows visitors to actively participate and immerse themselves in the experience.
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