In 1931, in the middle of the Japanese colonial period, local dignitaries and gisaeng (traditional female entertainers) from Namwon's gwonbeon (entertainer guild) gathered at Seong Chun-hyang's shrine inside Gwanghallu on the Dano holiday. There, they held a memorial rite honoring the fidelity and integrity of Chun-hyang — a character from a novel, not a historical figure. At first glance, holding a memorial service for a fictional woman's chastity during a period when the nation itself had been lost might seem strange. But it can be understood as a spontaneous act by local residents seeking to preserve a sense of national pride and identity under colonial rule.
The memorial rite that began this way eventually grew into a full-scale festival that took the name "Chunhyangje." Today, Chunhyangje is widely regarded as Korea's first performing-arts festival, and is considered one of the country's oldest continuously running cultural traditions, having continued uninterrupted for more than 90 years. Held every year across Gwanghallu Garden, it stands as a rare example of a tradition that began as a memorial service for a fictional character and grew into an event that now symbolizes an entire region's identity.