Donggang Raft Festival

The Donggang Raft Festival is Yeongwol's representative summer cultural tourism festival, a stay-type event operated under the core themes of water, rafts, and relaxation. In the past, raftmen in the Yeongwol and Jeongseon regions earned their livelihoods by transporting timber and daily necessities along the Donggang River. They formed a culture of exchange and coexistence by taking rests at ferry landings and taverns after navigating treacherous rapids and long waterways. The Donggang Raft Festival aims to widely promote the historical and cultural value of Yeongwol by inheriting and reinterpreting this traditional raft culture and the lives of the raftmen in a modern context. During the festival, various participatory activities are offered, including traditional raft construction and demonstrations, raft experiences, water leisure programs, water play content, performances, and nighttime programs. The festival is characterized by providing experiences and water play utilizing the natural environment of the Donggang River during the day, and offering the romance and leisure of summer nights through performances and relaxation programs at night. In addition, through the operation of a festival in which local residents and tourists participate together, it promotes the revitalization of the local community and increases the length of stay for tourists, and is establishing itself as a representative cultural tourism festival that preserves and passes down Yeongwol's unique raft culture.