The story
Yeoju Ogoknaru Festival in Yeoju
Yeoju's Ogoknaru Festival rebuilds the city's old riverside grain market, where five staple crops were once ferried toward the Joseon royal court. A recreated market street, farm produce stalls, and a signature bibimbap cooked in a giant iron pot anchor the autumn event. Traditional games and riverside performances round out a festival built entirely around Yeoju's identity as a farming and river-trade hub.
Yeoju grew up around a river crossing on the Namhan River, a spot known historically as a naru, or ferry landing, where boats moved grain, produce, and travelers between the fertile farmland of the region and markets further downstream.