Hwacheon's tomato festival set for Aug. 4-7

Tomato shower / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Are you ready for an epic tomato-throwing battle?

A messy tomato fight will take place in the streets of Hwacheon in Gangwon Province from Aug. 4 to 7.

According to the Hwacheon County Office, Wednesday, it has secured 83 tons of tomatoes for the festival, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year.

One of the highlights of the festival is a gold ring hunt, in which visitors compete to find fake gold rings hidden inside tomatoes. Finders can later exchange them for real ones.

Looking for gold

A cooking event and an eating contest are among the other programs that will take place.

The festival, which has greatly helped promote Hwacheon and invigorate its economy, has been recognized as one of Korea’s most successful local festivals.

All tomatoes used for the festival, the county noted, have defects so they are unsuitable for sale anyway.

Tomatoes are a specialty of Hwacheon. Last year’s festival sold more than 20 million won ($18,000) worth of tomatoes.

“We will work to satisfy both tourists and Hwacheon residents,” said Choi Moon-soon, head of the county. “We will try our best to manage the festival safely.”