No fire at 2023 Jeju Fire Festival

The Jeju Fire Festival, this year's iteration of which kicked off Thursday, has decided to cancel the program's highlights involving actual fire due to safety concerns, according to the organizers on late Thursday.

Several events scheduled for Friday and Saturday, including the festival's highlight, the Oreum Fire Lighting, were canceled as a series of wildfires have recently broken out in other areas in Korea amid the dry weather.

Other performances, concerts and programs will go on as scheduled. The festival also offers a number of hands-on events where visitors can participate in various folk games and other traditions.

Jeju Fire Festival is a modern reinterpretation of the island’s nomadic tradition known as “bangae,” which involved burning old grass as a prayer for prosperity and good health.

The annual festival is being held at Saebyeol Oreum in Aewol-eup on Jeju Island until Sunday.

There is no admissions fee, but reservations are required via the festival’s official website.