A world-famous sea-parting festival hosted annually by the southwestern South Korean island county of Jindo will be held only as an online event this year, officials said Sunday.

The 42nd edition of the Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival, described worldwide as the "Korean version of Moses' miracle," will be held only online from April 27-29, the officials said, in accordance with authorities' campaign for non-face-to-face events to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Around this time of year, the seawater in Jindo, about 470 kilometers south of Seoul, mysteriously parts due to the tidal difference to open a 2.8-km-long, 40-meter-wide pathway between Jindo and Modo Islet for about one hour twice a day, allowing a huge crowd of local and foreign tourists to walk through the sea road.

Last year, the Jindo county entirely canceled the festival, also called Jindo Sea-parting Festival, amid mounting public fears of COVID-19 transmissions.

During this year's online festival, the scenes of Jindo's sea parting will be broadcast live through YouTube and Facebook, the county said.

Besides drone filming of the mysterious sea road site, a variety of traditional cultural events, including a ritual to pay homage to the local mythical figure Granny Ppong, will be broadcast in real time, it said. Viewers around the world can participate in the festival by offering real-time online comments, it added.

County officials asked people to refrain from visiting the sea-parting site to help fight the spread of COVID-19 and to watch the festival events on YouTube or Facebook instead. (Yonhap)