 A quarantine officer sprays disinfectant on a vehicle heading for an area hit by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), Friday. The first outbreak of bird flu in Cheonan and Iksan has raised additional concerns for the government that is already tied up trying to contain the fast-spreading FMD. / Korea Times |
The fast-spreading foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease has taken its toll not only on cattle farmers but also on organizers of various festivals in Gangwon and other provinces.
To keep the deadly virus from further spreading via people, the central government and quarantine authorities are demanding local governments cancel or minimize their year-end or New Year festivals.
From Suengsan-po on Jeju Island to Jeongdong-jin in Gangwon Province, festival organizers in eastern and southern coastal areas have had to call off the popular events to celebrate the first sunrise of the New Year.
Ulsan Metropolitan City also canceled its sunrise event in which it originally planned a special train heading to a sunrise spot from Seoul.
Jinbu Town in PyeongChang City planned to run its annual trout festival from Dec. 23 until Feb. 6. but it had to delay the start date to Jan. 8.
Restaurants, hotels and other mom-and-pop businesses in the region are suffering a big fall in revenue due to the drop in tourists.
“Merchants in the town are sustaining huge financial losses due to the delay of the event,” said Hwang Deok-kyu, an official of the festival agency in Jinbu Town. “Compared to earnings from last year’s event, the lost revenue is estimated at 600 million won so far as we could not operate our facilities and restaurants here.”
Other festival organizers have also expressed concerns that they might be hit by FMD or avian influenza as two or three areas are newly infected with the diseases almost daily.
Taebaek City in Gangwon Province will push forward with its popular snow festival, which had drawn tens of thousands of tourists annually, as planned from Jan. 8 through 30.
“Last year, the festival produced an estimated 27 billion won in economic effect,” said an official from the city government. “So, the festival is very important for residents in this city. I hope our region won’t be affected by any kind of animal disease.”
The disease has so far spread to five cities and provinces after the first outbreak in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province on Nov. 29. The quarantine authorities have raised the alert level for the animal disease to its highest.
Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province is also considering cancelling its well-known Jarasum Singsing Winter Festival which is scheduled from Jan. 8 to 30. because FMD broke out in Paju City in the same province.
Hwacheon County in Gangwon plans to hold a Mountain Trout Festival for 23 days from Jan. 8, one of the nation’s most famous winter feasts.
Prospects of whether it will be able to open the festival as planned look bleak after one of its cattle farms tested positive for FMD on Dec. 22.
“We are working to hold the festival as planned. If the festival is cancelled, it will deal a huge blow to our regional economy which is already staggering due to the steep fall in the number of visitors following the escalated tension with North Korea,” an official of the festival organizer said.
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