Kimbap Cravings Unleashed: Gimcheon Festival Draws Massive ‘Cloud Crowd’ Despite Ingredient Shortage

Jimbap sold at the ‘1st Gimcheon Kimbap Festival’. Capture from Some visitors noted that the preparation and response to the festival was inadequate. On the other hand, now that the first festival has taken place, they have received favorable reviews as they look forward to next year.

On the 26th and 27th, Gimcheon City hosted the ‘1st Gimcheon Kimbab Festival’ in the area around Samyeng Ambassador Park and Eco-Friendly Ecological Park. The reason Kimbap Festival is held in Gimcheon City, which seems to have nothing to do with Kimbap, is because of a new word coined by young people. Among young people, Gimcheon is not called Gimcheon Town, but the franchise restaurant is known as an acronym for ‘Kimbab Heaven’. With this in mind, Gimchen City decided to hold a local festival with the theme of Zimbabwe.

After the festival was announced, social media and online communities faced backlash calling it a ‘new concept’. In fact, many tourists flocked there. The city initially expected 20,000 people to visit, but 100,000 people, five times more, came.

Crowds gather at the Gimcheon Kimbap Festival (left) to notice that the kimbap will be sold out. Instagram Capture The city announced on its official Instagram around 1:00 pm on the 26th that nearly half of the seven Zimbab booths participating in the festival will cease operations due to running out of ingredients.

The next day, the 27th, as the crowds of visitors continued, the city announced around 2:00 p.m., “All kimbap zone sales will end after the current time.” He continued, “We have prepared enough, but due to the nature of kimbap, it takes a long time to make it, so even if we only deliver to those currently waiting in line, expect the event to close soon. “

Later, people posted messages like “There were so many people that I couldn’t even look at the kimbap, so some people ate triangle kimbap” “I only bought tetokboki” “The tetokboki was sold out so I only ate refrigerated hamburger” “I waited too long for the shuttle In the scorching sun for the bus, but seeing the material running out notice, I lost power”, etc. complained.

Also, “I had to go to the top of the mountain to eat kimbap, so I struggled to climb up, but there was no food.” Points like “I waited for over an hour and finally parked in a nearby public parking lot and walked up” were also raised.

Gimcheon Kimbab Festival mascot Kodali (left) and Gimcheon City mascot Ohsam. Instagram capture On the other hand, there was also a supportive response, with the crowd showing that the campaign went well. Netizens said, “More people came than expected means that the campaign was good, so don’t be disappointed and don’t cheer” “I felt like I prepared hard, so I had a good time.” Kkodali’ was very beautiful and well chosen. “It’s also great that they took care of the kimbap ingredients and characters,” he praised.

Comments praising the organizers for their careful consideration were also noteworthy. They responded, “It was good to use as little packaging as possible and keep it in puff pastry or reusable containers,” “It was good because it was sold in half packs so you could try different kinds of food” and “It’s for mothers. It was good because there was a nursing room.”

Various types of kimbap are sold at the festival, including Odani kimbap, tot kimbap, dadam kimbap, samyengdesahoguk kimbap, and jiri black pork kimbap. Various events are also held, including kimbap cooking contests and kimbap delivery games. An invited performance was also held by singer Yadu, who sang the song ‘Kimbab’.

Hyewon Lee, Donga.com reporter hyewon@donga.com