Bonghwa Pine Mushroom Festival

In the late 1990s, Bonghwa-gun began to recognize high-quality pine mushrooms (songi) growing naturally in its clean nature and deep forests as a future regional resource. In particular, "Bonghwa Pine Mushroom," a rare resource that grows only in clean forest areas at an altitude of 600m or higher, attracted the attention of domestic and foreign gourmets due to its unique aroma and texture compared to pine mushrooms from other regions. Bonghwa-gun planned a "nature-gourmet fusion festival" where residents and tourists could come together, moving beyond simple promotion of local specialties, and against this background, the "Bonghwa Pine Mushroom Festival" took its first steps. Starting in 1997, the Bonghwa Pine Mushroom Festival has been held throughout Bonghwa-gun, focusing on pine mushroom harvesting experiences, pine mushroom dish tastings, and local specialty sales exhibitions. With the active participation of local residents and the widespread recognition of the excellence of pine mushrooms, the Bonghwa Pine Mushroom Festival has gradually established itself as a representative autumn gourmet festival in Korea. In particular, the Pine Mushroom Festival has grown into a comprehensive festival where culture, tourism, and the economy harmonize by spreading the values of nature conservation and coexistence beyond a simple consumption event, and linking with traditional performances, local agricultural product-related experiences, and tourist site circulation programs.