The Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday it has designated the Danoje Festival held in Beopseongpo in South Jeolla Province as Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 123.

The Beopseongpo Danoje is one of the major Dano festivals held in Korea along with Gangneung Danoje, a UNESCO-designated world cultural heritage. Programs include ritual offerings to the Dragon King for the sake of safety of fishermen, folk games, a Korean music competition, and a lantern parade to pray for the well-being of villagers, a rich harvest and good catch for local fisherman.

Beopseongpo, a port on Korea’s west coast, has been a center of commerce and is famous for Yeonggwang gulbi or yellow corvina.

Dano, or the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is one of the three major traditional holidays in South Korea along with Lunar New Year’s Day and Chuseok, the traditional harvest festival. The oldest Korean holiday marks the beginning of the summer season and it is a day for praying for favorable weather for farming and fishing and a good fall harvest. People traditionally spent the day merrymaking to rest after the arduous labor of spring planting and preparing for the summer farming season.

The administration also recognized Kim Hyon-geon, a master of making the Korean musical instruments “pyeonjong” and “pyeonggyeong” as possessor of the important intangible cultural asset No. 42. (Yonhap News)