Gwangju Toechon Tomato Festival

Gwangju Toechon Tomato Festival will take place from 21^st June to 23^rd June 2013 at Toechon, which has been growing tomatoes since the 1970s.

Approximately 80 farmers cultivate tomatoes on an area of about 230,000M²  surrounding the festival venue of Jeongji-ri, Toechon-myeon. Toechon tomatoes receive a favorable response from tourists through the direct sales of quality tomato.

The Toechon Tomato Festival contributes to protecting producers and consumers through the direct trade of non-polluted farm products from the clean area of the Lake Paldang region, becoming a local specialty. 

Consumers can purchase quality tomatoes at lower prices (30% lower than the market price) during the festival. Furthermore, there are a variety of events such as a wetland ecology management walk and a “love the environment” drawing and composition contest as well as diverse participation events.

One of the main events during these three days is swimming in a pool of tomatoes. Children and adults enjoy and frolic in this event.Children can participate in various games related to tomatoes. By using tomatoes, they can try creating a Scarecrow and building a Tower of Babel. They can experience harvesting tomatoes, cooking using tomatoes and making tomato Gochujang (chili pepper paste). There are tomato exhibitions, tomato juice sampling booth and various tomato auctions to experience.

In addition to programs and performances involving tomatoes the festival will feature the famous Tomato Well-Being Food Tasting & Exhibition.

Alongside there are singing competitions and various performances to entertain the visitors.

Toechon-myeon is a rural area included in a one-day tour zone from the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul,Seongnam). With convenient transportation stretching in all directions and remarkable scenery such as Lake Paldang and the Wusancheon valley as well as bountiful, clean land, Tocheon-myeon is favored as a recreation place for residents in the metropolitan area.

“The most distinctive point of the festival is that you can see families with children participating and swimming in a pool of tomatoes. This festival witnesses many foreigners enjoying themselves as well,” said Mr. Jae-Sang, Lee, Director of Korea Tourism Organization.