"Bongsan Mask Dance, gather together!"...The fall Bongsan Mask Dance Festival opens.

[Anchor]
Under the clear autumn sky, a festival was held to promote Bongsan Mask Dance, our great traditional heritage, to the world.

A cultural event is being held where not only Koreans but also foreign tourists can enjoy it together.

There is an issue reporter on the scene. Reporter Seo Jihyun!

[Reporter]
Yes, it is located in Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul.

[Anchor]
The opening ceremony is in full swing right now?

[Reporter]
Yes, it is.

The Bongsan Mask Dance Parade, the highlight of this festival, is being held here.

The march continues through the 400m-long street to the representative stage where I am.

Participants in Bongsan Mask Dance costumes are coming in while dancing masks to the cheerful rhythm of Janggu and Kkwaenggwari.

The Bongsan Mask Dance Lion is also celebrating the beginning of the festival with excitement.

Just before, a group flash mob event was held in which 50 foreigners wore Bongsan masks and danced mask dances.

Marking its second anniversary this year, Bongsan Mask Dance is a festival to promote the history and excitement of Bongsan Mask Dance, a traditional Korean culture, to the world.

Among the 18 mask dances in the country, the most vibrant and humorous Bongsan mask dance is a traditional dance of Bongsan-gun, Hwanghae-do, which was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022.

In this festival, which runs from today to tomorrow, you can enjoy a variety of Bongsan mask dance performances, including stage performances reminiscent of the Joseon Dynasty.

In addition to trying on the traditional costumes of Bongsan Mask Dance, you can make your own Bongsan Mask and learn from flipping Bongsan Mask Dance to walking.

Then let's hear the story of Bae Hyun-jin, the chairman of the festival's executive committee, the People's Power.

[BAE HYUNJIN / Festival Executive Committee Chairman (Representative of the People's Power): It's the second festival of 2024 'Bongsan Mask Dance!'. I've been the organizing committee chairman of this festival with the Bongsan Mask Dance Preservation Society since the first festival last year. Bongsan Mask Dance is the most well-known dance in the world, and as you can see today, it has the advantage that so many people can come and enjoy it together. The weather is nice. [I hope many of you come to the "Bongsan Mask Dance" festival that's going on until tomorrow and enjoy it together]

This festival is full of events that will captivate domestic and foreign visitors by adding a modern sense to Bongsan Mask Dance, Korea's representative mask dance.

After a while, there will be a colorful opening stage, including a Bongsan Mask Dance Fashion Show and a hip-hop performance that meets the Bongsan Mask Dance.

It would be nice to have a fun weekend feeling the essence of traditional culture handed down by our ancestors under the high blue autumn sky.

So far, I'm Seo Ji-hyun of YTN in Namsangol Hanok Village, Seoul.