Anseong, south of Seoul, was the origin and home of Namsadang, a typical wandering entertainer group, during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), and Baudeogi was a legendary female Namsadang leader. More than 200 events will be spread throughout the festival at the ancient marketplace of the Joseon Kingdom to be reproduced for the festival. Programs will include a massive street parade by some 5,000 participants, Namsadang performances and plays and folk performances by troupes from six countries, including the Philippines, Ukraine, Cyprus, Taiwan and Mexico.

For more information call 031-676-4601 or visit the Web site at http://www.baudeogi.com.

Classic and modern films will be screened at major theaters and art houses around the capital city during the nine-day Chungmuro International Film Festival Seoul (CHIFFS) opening on Sept. 2. The fourth Chungmuro festival -- named after the Seoul district that is the mecca of Korea's movie industry -- will screen 115 films from 30 different countries. It will open with "For the good of others," directed by Oskar Santos of Spain.

For more information call 02-2236-6231 or visit the Web site at www.chiffs.co.kr.

The 12th Wonju Hanji Festival will offer visitors the chance to experience the beauty and versatility of hanji, or Korean traditional handmade paper, with exhibitions, workshops, educational programs, events and seminars at various venues around the Chiak Art Center. One of the major attractions of the festival will be a hanji fashion show featuring clothes made from hanji, to be held Sept. 9.

For further information, call 033-766-1366 or go to www.wjhanji.co.kr/festival.

Lee Hyo-seok (1907-1942) was one of the most famous Korean novelists of the 20th century. The highland town of Pyeongchang is famous as his place of birth and for the gorgeous buckwheat flowers that cover the land in autumn. The festival commemorating the novelist, author of "Buckwheat Season," offers various programs amid the backdrop of the buckwheat village. Programs include the performance of traditional folk plays, reenactments of traditional marketplaces, performances of traditional and modern music and dance, as well as writing contests. Visitors will also have a chance to taste local specialty dishes made from buckwheat flour.

For more information call 033-335-2323 or go to www.hyoseok.com.

The Andong International Mask Dance Festival will be held for 10 days on the main stage in Andong and Hahoe Village. The theme of this year's festival is "One World and Exciting Maskdance." From old times, the mask dance has been used to indirectly criticize the ruling "yangban" class. The yangban, or ruling elite of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), were often criticized and condemned by the common people. Direct criticism of the yangban was strictly forbidden during that time, so the common people satirized the yangban from behind masks, developing the craft into various forms of mask dance with regional variations. Visitors to Hahoe Village, one of the two South Korean villages recently added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, can see on the spot the Confucian cultural characteristics of the village.

For more information, call 054-841-6398 or visit the Web site www.maskdance.com.