Utilization of a festival in a local development strategy and its transformation: A case study of the Chuncheon Mime Festival, Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, the Republic of Korea

Abstract

This paper examines the economic and social effects of the Chuncheon Mime Festival (CMF). Unlike other festivals sponsored by local governments in the Republic of Korea, the CMF was initiated by the private sector and did not originate from the sociohistorical and cultural characteristics of Chuncheon and the surrounding area. However, because the CMF was designated as a "cultural and tourist festival" by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the city council increased financial support for it under a regional development strategy and simultaneously sought to commercialize it among tourists through place marketing, even though its contribution to the local economy has not been great. In this process, tension arose between the Chuncheon City Council and the festival organizers. The council asked the CMF organizers to make it into a mass-oriented program for place marketing, while the organizers saw the festival purely as a showcase for the performing arts. However, the organizers eventually developed new programs for the general public and tried to comply with the council's desire to utilize the CMF as part of a regional development strategy. Those efforts were successful. Although the CMF organizers have attempted to popularize the festival among local residents, the community has not completely accepted it yet because local people do not participate actively in the performances.