Autumn in Songnisan and the Maple Song Festival 2025
Songnisan National Park is preparing for winter, which has arrived without much of an autumn.
Every year, Songnisan Mountain's autumn season is crowded with tourists who come to see the colorful foliage.
This year, due to unusual weather conditions, the fall foliage season started more than a week later than usual in some areas,
causing visitors eager to enjoy the autumn colors to wait.
Autumn in Songnisan begins at Maltijae, passes through the Songnisan food street, and continues to the Oritgil and Sejogil trails.
The colorful autumn foliage along the Sejogil trail leading to Beopjusa Temple is a sight to behold.
The slightly delayed autumn season in Songnisan reached its peak during the weekend of the Songnisan Maple Song Festival.
Songnisan National Park is a representative tourist destination in Chungbuk, and in the 70s and 80s,
it was famous as the number one destination for honeymoons and school trips.
Since then, through continuous investment and local revitalization projects, Songnisan is regaining its former reputation.
Various activities can be enjoyed around Songnisan, including Songnisan Theme Park, Maltijae Natural Recreation Forest, and Solhyang Park.
The annual Songnisan Festival has been renamed the 'Songnisan Pungnyu Festival' this year,
and it was held as a festival where tradition and emotion coexist.
The site, where tradition, art, and play were combined, broke down generational barriers and was filled with an open space of 'pungnyu' that everyone could enjoy.
At the ancient Beopjusa Temple, colorful chrysanthemums invited visitors to an autumn feast.
Beopjusa Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a treasure trove of cultural properties and one of the three major Buddhist temples in the country.
It is home to Palsangjeon (National Treasure No. 55), Korea's only traditional wooden pagoda,
and a 33-meter-high bronze Mireuk Buddha statue.
Beopjusa Temple is designated as Historic Site No. 503, and the Beopjusa Temple area is designated as Scenic Site No. 61.
In celebration of autumn, the 27th Songnisan Maple Song Festival
was held on November 8th at the outdoor special stage in the Songnisan lawn plaza.
The Songnisan Maple Song Festival, which boasts history and tradition, is also famous as a gateway for new singers.
A total of 7 teams who passed the preliminary round took to the main stage at this year's song festival
and presented performances that proved they were already singers.
The winner of this year's song festival will receive a grand prize of 10 million won, a gold prize of 5 million won,
a silver prize of 3 million won, a bronze prize of 1.5 million won, and an encouragement prize of 700,000 won (3 teams), etc.
Generous prize money and trophies will be awarded.
The song festival was broadcast live on MBC Chungbuk, and to celebrate the stage,
there were congratulatory performances by singers Lee Seok-hoon, The One, Choi Soo-ho, and Jang Jae-hwang, the winner of the 26th Song Festival.
This year's song festival was hosted and organized by Boeun-gun and MBC Chungbuk,
and preparations were made to ensure that both participants and viewers could enjoy the show safely and comfortably.
Fans were given cheering sticks, hot packs, and pamphlets,
and the fan clubs of the celebratory singers also prepared cheering sticks, making it an exciting and enjoyable viewing experience.
The song festival, which began with a congratulatory speech by Boeun County Governor Choi Jae-hyung, featured a pre-show event
followed by an exciting cheering performance by a cheerleader dance team.
The song festival was heated up by a passionate performance by invited singer The One.
There was an introduction of the judges and the song festival,
and the first participant was a female student from Jeongseon, Gangwon-do,
who started with a performance with excellent singing ability.
The final winner of this year's song festival was Gu Min-seo from Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, the gold prize went to Jang Hyun-wook (Namyangju, Gyeonggi),
and the silver prize went to Kim Seong-hoon (Seoul).
A total prize money of 21.6 million won was awarded to the winners.
At the lawn plaza where the Songnisan Maple Song Festival is held,
a Songnisan Dulle Trail walking event was also held from 9:30 am.
The walking course starts at 9:30 am from Songnisan Lawn Plaza
and is a 7km section that returns via Solhyang Park, Malti Summit, and Moktak Peak.
The Songnisan Dulle Trail is a medium- to long-distance course of about 200 km connecting Boeun, Goesan, Mungyeong, and Sangju in Chungbuk,
and is one of the top 5 famous mountain trekking spots in Korea designated by the Korea Forest Service.
To get to Songnisan National Park, take the Seosan-Yeongdeok Expressway
and use Boeun IC, Songnisan IC, and Gubyeongsan IC for quick and easy access.
Recently, the number of people visiting Songnisan using the old Maltijae Road has also increased.
Autumn in Songnisan National Park is gradually fading away like this,
but the reason why I'm looking forward to next year is because the autumn foliage is there.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/cbkb21/224079608452
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