Jeju Fire Festival 



Jeju Fire Festival, also known as Jeju Field Burning Festival, takes place at Saebyeol Oreum in Jeju Island until March 6. The Fire Festival is a modern version of a farming practice of setting fields on fire during winter, burning away old grass and expunging potentially dangerous insects from the area to prepare the fields for animal grazing. The program features various performances, contests and experiences including a horseback archery performance, walking along the Jeju Sorigil and grass sledding.

For more information, visit buriburi.go.kr or call (064) 728-2752



Gurye Sansuyu Festival



Gurye Sansuyu Festival, an annual spring flower festival, will take place at Jirisan Mountain’s hot springs area in South Jeolla Province from March 19-27. The festival will present a vast array of performing arts including the Sansuyu healing garden concert, and the Sansuyu flower stonewall walk way concert and street performance. Visitors can also experience events related to Sansuyu such as a treasure hunt, tea tasting, a pressed-painting experience and topiary, which is the art of cutting trees and bushes into different shapes.

For more information, call (061) 780-2726 or visit sansuyu.gurye.go.kr.



Nonsan Strawberry Festival



Nonsan Strawberry Festival will take place at Nonsan Stream and Strawberry Field in South Chungcheong Province from March 30-April 3. Nonsan is known for its rich harvest of strawberries as its fertile soil, clean water and air provides the perfect environment for strawberries to grow into quality products. The festival will feature various programs including strawberry picking, strawberry cake baking, strawberry jam making, and other hands-on experiences related to strawberries. The strawberry-picking event participation is limited to 1,000 people per day, so it is highly recommended to make a reservation in advance. Visitors can check the list of participating strawberry farms and contact information on the official website nsfestival.co.kr.

For more information, call (041) 746-8386.



Samoa Tourism Authority to open in Korea



Samoa, a group of islands in the South Pacific, will be opening a Tourism Authority in Korea, the first such opening in Asia. In celebration of this, the Tourism Authority will offer free VIP day trips for Korean couples who are on their honeymoon. As part of the day trip, the couples will visit To Sua ocean trench and the author of Treasure Island Lobert Louis Stevenson’s museum. To Sua ocean trench is a landmark in Samoa. It is a unique land formation consisting of two giant holes joined via an ancient lava tube cave, one without water and the other a 30-meter-deep swimming hole with turquoise water. Such visits will be only available for those who reserve Samoa travel package via travel agencies appointed by the tourism board.

For more information, visit www.samoa.travel or call 070-7501-5112.



U.S. cherry trees to bloom 





The National Park Service is predicting that the peak bloom for Washington’s cherry blossom trees will be between March 31 and April 3.

Organizers of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the park service announced the projected peak bloom dates on Wednesday. The average date for peak bloom is April 4. Peak bloom is when 70 percent of the trees around the Tidal Basin are in bloom.

This year’s festival runs from March 20 through April 17. The festival marks the anniversary of Japan’s gift of 3,000 cherry trees. (AP)





정은진기자@heraldcorp.com