Because of the spread of COVID-19, we have lost many things and have gotten many damages. We were also forced to stay indoors and cancel some important activities. Some of these activities are the canceled festivals of my neighborhood. To start with, because of the ongoing pandemic, many festivals were canceled. In the part of sunrise festivals, the Ganjeolgot Sunrise festival and Daewangam Sunrise Festival were canceled. Also, in the cherry blossom festivals, Gunggeorang Cherry Blossom Festival and Jakjeong Cherry Blossom Festival were canceled. The reason is COVID-19's spread worldwide.

▲ Gunggeorang Cherry Blossom Festival

Then, how does the cancellation of these festivals affect our society? First, it has negatively affected the local economy. Income generated from the festivals disappeared. Second, it has caused many people who expected those festivals to be disappointed. Finally, it has changed some plans of the local government. The local government's plans include income generated from festivals, so the cancellation of festivals has caused many changes in their plans.

Finally, how did the people enjoy the canceled festivals? Most of them enjoyed the festivals by themselves, For example, Gunggeorang, the venue of the annual cherry blossom festival, was filled with people who went to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Though Gunggeorang Cherry Blossom Festival was canceled, people still went to enjoy watching the cherry blossoms. Also, others changed their target to another festival which was held online. Because of COVID-19, some festivals like few sunrise festivals were held online. So, those people enjoyed the festival in their house. Other people found other things to enjoy. One of their choices is playing games. As a result, the profit of an online game company increased to five percent due to COVID-19.

▲ Game industry`s growth caused by COVID-19

Because of COVID-19, many festivals were canceled. It has negatively affected the local economy, but it has caused people to be safe and has caused some game companies to increased their profit. It is a real example of not all things in this world cause only bad effects.

By Nam Guemin