Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival

It is a national flower festival held annually in Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival
The gala event of the Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival
Dates	Late October ~ Early November
Location(s)	Changwon, South Korea
Years active	2000 – Present
Founders	Masan City

The Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival(hangul : 마산가고파 국화축제) celebrates the excellence of the chrysanthemum and has been held since 2000 to promote the consumption of chrysanthemum.[1][2]

It started with the first 'Masan Chrysanthemum Festival' in 2000 and changed its name to the 'Masan Chrysanthemum Exhibition' in 2002. In 2005, the festival changed its name to the 'Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival'. The festival features a song contest, an essay contest, and a Si-nangsong(poetry recitation) contest. About 1.5 million tourists visit during the festival.[3]

Masan is a place where the history of chrysanthemum cultivation is enshrined. In 1961, six farms in Hoewon-dong started the first chrysanthemum commercial in the nation. It has grown since then and exports to Japan for the first time in 1972. It currently accounts for 13 percent of the nation's growing farmland.