Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea —  Last September 18-20, the city of Yangju celebrated its annual cotton festival. Danny and I never knew that Yangju is known for cotton and so we were in full anticipation to visit the festival ’cause we’ve never seen yet a cotton plant.

There were lots of people, as expected, usually in groups of families. First thing we saw upon arrival was flower fields in various vibrant spring colors (though it’s autumn already).

We even spotted sunflowers with scary faces.

After walking around the very broad field of autumn blossoms, we finally saw the land where the cotton plants are. Unfortunately, the area look dead. Majority turned brown or fell off on the ground, and the cotton were too dry and rough to touch. Although, there were some that didn’t bloom yet. We were a bit disappointed but still glad that we were able to see an actual one.

Moving on, there were also lots of white and blue party tents that sell a wide variety of food, drinks, plants, herbs, animals, etc. Small and child-friendly amusements such as vikings and trampoline were also present.

Also, there was a military vehicle exhibition and children can actually explore inside and on them guided by the soldiers on duty.

Since it was a cotton festival, we had some white cotton candy, too. haha

At the center, there was a huge open stage where some famous talents like U-know Jung Yunho had performed for free… and we have no idea who he is!

We finished roaming around right after sunset and we’ve seen this..

It was very similar with lechon (roasted suckling pig) except it wasn’t seasoned with lemongrass. One short order was good for 2-3 persons and costed ₩30,000 (₱1,200) which very much surprised us and the other bypassers. So, we just left.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time, though it was short and we hope we could see many more festivals in other locations, too. ‘Til next time!

xoxo,