Chungnam Province’s Baekje Culture Complex Nakhwanori (traditional fireworks play) is enjoying soaring popularity every year, presenting a leading model for the policies of ‘Healing Chungnam’ and ‘night-time economy vitalization.’

According to the province on the 6th, the Baekje Culture Complex has been hosting Nakhwanori once a year around the Neungsa Five-Story Pagoda since 2024.

This year’s event, scheduled to open from 6:30 PM on the 7th, will feature Chungnam’s intangible cultural heritage Seungmu (monk’s dance), with an additional program from 8:30 PM allowing visitors to observe the night sky through telescopes, adding to the visual spectacles.

Considering that Nakhwanori is a night-time event and that safety issues could arise due to limited viewing spaces, the Baekje Culture Complex decided to limit the number of visitors to 3,500 and conducted online ticket sales for the entire admission quota on the 13th of last month.

At the time, as soon as the portal site booking window opened, all tickets sold out instantly, and the reservation waitlist soared to about 30,000 people. With purchasing tickets feeling like “picking stars from the sky,” posts such as “Tips for booking Baekje Culture Complex Nakhwanori” and “How to get canceled tickets” have been popping up continuously online.

The “explosive popularity” of the Baekje Culture Complex Nakhwanori was already anticipated from its very first event.

In 2024, when reservations and on-site ticketing were conducted without any limits on the number of viewers, as many as 7,800 people visited the venue. Because thousands of people flocked in a short time, errors occurred in the on-site ticket-issuing system.

Following concerns over safety accidents due to crowd concentration and degraded viewing environments after the first event, the Baekje Culture Complex set the total viewing capacity at 2,500 last year and sold tickets exclusively through reservations without on-site sales.

That event also triggered an “open-run” phenomenon, and as complaints demanding an increase in the allowed viewing capacity flooded in, this year’s viewing capacity was expanded by 1,000 people.

The Baekje Culture Complex believes that Nakhwanori is gaining such popularity because the sparks falling endlessly like scattering cherry blossom petals embroider the deepening autumn night, creating a dreamy atmosphere unseen anywhere else. In addition, they analyzed that the popularity is backed by the scarcity of being held only once a year in the unique space of the “Baekje Royal Palace,” the harmony of the Neungsa Five-Story Pagoda illuminated by elegant landscape lighting, and the beautiful melodies and dance moves wetting the stage.

An official from the province added, “The explosive reservation waitlist for Nakhwanori shows high interest in differentiated night-time contents that only the Baekje Culture Complex can offer,” and “We will find ways for more visitors to enjoy Nakhwanori in the future while developing and operating various contents to further vitalize the Baekje Culture Complex.”

Meanwhile, regarding Healing Chungnam, Governor Park stated, “In addition to industry and economy, healing is another identity that Chungnam must possess, and Chungnam must shoulder the role of healing the lives of 25 million metropolitan area citizens,” adding, “Adding the identity of a healing city will be a new opportunity to draw metropolitan area residents into Chungnam.”

Regarding the vitalization of the night-time economy, he stated, “There must be things to enjoy and stay for at night, not just daytime attractions, and the core of that is regular night performances,” noting that efforts are underway to secure national funding.

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