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Gwangyang's plum blossom festival attracts record ticket revenue despite stone controversy

Published: 21 Mar. 2026, 12:21

Plum blossoms at Gwangyang, South Jeolla [GWANGYANG CITY OFFICE]

The annual plum blossom festival in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, is drawing record ticket revenue this year despite a complaint that a bag of chestnuts was sold with stones inside.

A total of 430,557 people visited the festival grounds from March 13 to 18, according to the city government's data released Friday. Of these, 94,046 visitors entered during ticketed hours, generating 415 million won ($311,000) in admission revenue. The city expects total paid admissions to reach around 1 billion won by the festival’s closing on March 22.

The city government verified that stones were indeed found instead of chestnut snack bags, sold by a vendor at the festival. “The incident is likely a mishap caused by simple negligence on the part of the vendor,” a city official said Thursday.

The issue came into the spotlight on March 13, through a social media clip. “The bag felt light, so I filmed a video to check how many were inside and found three stones,” the uploader said, adding that they did not raise the issue at the time due to time constraints.

A social media clip on March 20 shows rocks inside a bag of roasted chestnuts at the Maehwa Festival in Gwangyang, South Jeolla. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

As the clip gained traction online, the city launched an investigation into the claims and began inspecting all vendors at the site. It also deployed 53 officials across five sectors — including food safety, construction and road management — to crack down on violations, with plans to file complaints or take administrative action if necessary.

A city official said that on-site inspections of around 10 roasted chestnut vendors outside the festival grounds suggested the incident was likely accidental. “Many vendors said stones placed on display tables to prevent items from being blown away by wind may have accidentally ended up in the bag, or that a display product may have been mistakenly handed over,” the official said.

The city added that vendors also expressed skepticism about intentional wrongdoing. “Since roasted chestnuts are not a prepared dish, it would be difficult to intentionally insert stones. It would be immediately discovered at the point of sale,” a vendor who wished to remain anonymous told the JoongAng Ilbo, adding that while accidental inclusion was possible, deliberate action was unlikely.

The original uploader also posted a follow-up message the next day, suggesting a similar explanation. “As some commenters pointed out, it seems like I was given a display product. The chestnuts I bought later elsewhere at the festival were good,” the post read.

The city said it plans to consider compensation measures for the customer after completing its fact-finding process, and that it will continue to strengthen monitoring and the guidance for shops and street vendors even after the festival ends, as visitors typically continue to arrive beyond the official event period.

“We are currently trying to locate the vendor featured in the social media post to clearly determine the facts,” a city official said. “Even if the case is confirmed to have been a simple mistake, we will use this as an opportunity to strengthen on-site inspections and minimize inconvenience for visitors.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

CHIOI KYEONG-HO. [[email protected]]