Kim Woo-young's Gwanggyo Column This Year Too, I Want to Go: Hwaseong Haenggung Night Program 'Suwon Hwaseong Taepyeongseongdae'

Last autumn, I received a lunch invitation from Mayor Lee Jae-jun of Suwon Special City.

It was a gathering of survivors from key figures of the Hwaseong Haenggung Restoration Promotion Committee from 35 years ago—Lee Hong-gu, Jeon Heung-seop, Song Chul-ho, Kim Sang-yong, Lim Byung-ho, Kim Woo-young, and others—along with Sun Jeong-seon, the widow of Mayor Shim Jae-deok (then director of the Suwon Cultural Center), who was a central figure in the restoration of Hwaseong Haenggung.

I was grateful to Mayor Lee Jae-jun for remembering us and extending an invitation when the time came.

After the lunch, we went to Hwaseong Haenggung.

It was to experience 'Suwon Hwaseong Taepyeongseongdae,' the signature night-time specialized program of Suwon Hwaseong Haenggung.

Taepyeongseongdae is a Cultural Heritage Administration World Heritage Utilization Program consisting of two programs: 'Palace Walk with Resident Actors' and 'Hyegyeongung Palace Refreshment Experience.'

Residents directly plan and operate the program, with resident actors performing and residents handcrafting traditional refreshments. The Haenggung Village Cooperative, a community organization in Haenggung-dong, participated from the planning stage through operations.

'Palace Walk with Resident Actors' is an experiential tour guided by storytellers. Among the accompanying actors are familiar faces—residents of Haenggung-dong. Residents participate as actors and move around the haenggung with visitors, progressing the story and opening small events. Sometimes participants themselves become actors, creating delightful moments. There is no time to be bored or dull.

Due to circumstances, we experienced it during the day, but had it been at night, we could have experienced the special evening of Hwaseong Haenggung.

'Hyegyeongung Palace Refreshment Experience' is a culinary program where each guest enjoys an individual royal refreshment table with traditional music at the Byeoljoo. It was recreated based on the 'Wonhaengeulmyo Jeongri Uigwe,' which records the sixtieth birthday celebration table of Queen Hyegyeongung, mother of King Jeongjo, in 1795.

Sitting on the wooden floor of the Byeoljoo and receiving the royal refreshment table gave me a sense of being properly honored.

This year's refreshment experience program has become even more abundant than last year.

A three-person seating option was added for family visitors, and seasonal menus for the first and second half of the year are offered for returning guests. The program also includes traditional accessory experiences for those wearing hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and instant photo-taking events (one photo per person).

Last year's 'Palace Walk with Resident Actors' received enthusiastic responses from tourists. Reportedly, all seats were fully booked within five minutes of the reservation opening.

Over a total of 32 days in May-June and September-October, the program was operated for 83 sessions, with approximately 2,500 participants ('Hyegyeongung Palace Refreshment Experience' with approximately 500 people, 'Palace Walk with Resident Actors' with approximately 2,000 people).

Last year's refreshment experience and palace walk were selected as excellent cases by the Cultural Heritage Administration nationwide, demonstrating the value of their utilization.

Furthermore, the program was selected for the '2026 Cultural Heritage Administration World Heritage Utilization Project Contest,' welcoming visitors again this year.

A Suwon City official stated that this year, with 'Suwon Tourism Year' beginning, a program with greater completeness has been prepared. The 'Haenggung Village Cooperative,' composed of residents of Haenggung-dong, participated in planning and operations, reflecting the coexistence of world heritage and local communities in the program.

The city also announced plans to actively attract stay-type tourists by linking world heritage utilization programs with night-time opening of Hwaseong Haenggung.

I hope that 'Suwon Hwaseong Taepyeongseongdae,' a sustainable world heritage utilization model working with the local community, continues and that I can participate every year.

But with these very slow hands of mine, will I be able to succeed in registration for something that closes in five minutes?