Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival drew 430,000 visitors, county says
In short
Uiryeong County said the 5th Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival, held over four days from Oct 2 to 5 in South Gyeongsang Province, drew 430,000 visitors — up 90,000 from 340,000 a year earlier. Newsis put the economic effect at 20 billion won in its headline, and Chosun Ilbo reported the turnout was a record equal to 18 times the county's population of about 24,500, with an estimated effect of 20 billion won or more.
Read the full story 1 min read
Uiryeong County said the 5th Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival, held over four days from Oct 2 to 5, drew 430,000 visitors, up 90,000 from about 340,000 a year earlier, Yonhap reported. Chosun Ilbo reported the same total was a record for the event and said it was 18 times the county's population of about 24,500. [ 1 , 3 ]
Newsis put the economic effect at 20 billion won in its headline, and Chosun Ilbo reported an estimate of 20 billion won or more. Neither outlet explains in the available text how the estimate was produced, and Yonhap does not mention the figure. [ 2 , 3 ]
According to Yonhap, the festival was held under the theme “the sense of the rich.” Programs included a rich-people experience hall, a field day, KidZania and a boat tour of the Namgang river. The county said it ran sales stalls for local agricultural and specialty products and introduced a “Rich Lottery” that visitors could enter with receipts for spending in the area, measures it described as aimed at boosting the local economy. [ 1 ]
At the opening ceremony the county held a “Rich Awards” for charitable work, Yonhap reported, naming Jeong Yeong-sik, chairman of Beomhan Group; Kim Hyeon-su, head of Deokyeong Internal Medicine Clinic; and the late Gong Do-yeon. Newsis published photographs from the event naming the same three recipients together with County Governor Oh Tae-wan. [ 1 , 2 ]
Oh Tae-wan said the festival “is possible because Uiryeong has the rich legend of Solbawi and the stories of South Korea's representative founders,” and that adding new meaning and fun to the county's own story each year produced this year's 430,000 visitors. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The coverage presents the festival as a boost for a small county, tied to farm-produce sales and a lottery entered with receipts for local spending. The economic-effect figure appears in two outlets but is described as an estimate, and no document explains how it was produced, so the size of the benefit is not established.
Key facts
- The 5th Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival ran for four days, from Oct 2 to 5, in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province. [ 1 ]
- The county said 430,000 people visited, up from 340,000 last year. [ 1 ]
- Newsis carried the visitor figure and put the economic effect at 20 billion won in its headline; Chosun Ilbo reported an estimated effect of 20 billion won or more. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reported the turnout was a record and equal to 18 times the county's population of about 24,500. [ 3 ]
- The festival theme was “the sense of the rich,” with programs including a rich-people experience hall, a field day, KidZania and a Namgang river boat tour. [ 1 ]
- The county ran sales stalls for local agricultural and specialty products and a “Rich Lottery” entered with receipts for spending in the area. [ 1 ]
- Awards for charitable work went to Jeong Yeong-sik, Kim Hyeon-su and the late Gong Do-yeon. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The 5th Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival drew 430,000 visitors, according to the county. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The county said the total was up 90,000 from 340,000 last year. [ 1 ]
- The festival ran for four days, from Oct 2 to 5. [ 1 ]
- Awards for charitable work went to Jeong Yeong-sik, Kim Hyeon-su and the late Gong Do-yeon, with County Governor Oh Tae-wan also named at the event. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The county said the festival was held under the theme “the sense of the rich,” with a rich-people experience hall, a field day, KidZania and a Namgang river boat tour among the programs. [ 1 ]
Still unclear
- How the 430,000-visitor count and the 340,000 figure for last year were compiled. The documents give both numbers as the county's announcement and state no methodology.
- How the economic effect of 20 billion won or more was calculated and who produced the estimate. Newsis and Chosun Ilbo cite the figure, but neither explains it in the text available, and Yonhap does not mention it.
- Whether Newsis's article text supports the 20 billion won figure. For Newsis only the headline and photo captions were available; the effect figure appears in the headline alone.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap reports the county's announcement that the festival drew 430,000 visitors, up from 340,000 a year earlier. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes its report on the same visitor figure, with a headline citing an economic effect of 20 billion won. [ 2 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the turnout was a record and equal to 18 times the county's population, with an estimated economic effect of 20 billion won or more. [ 3 ]