[News Today] Festival celebrating Jeju horses

[LEAD]
Jeju-do Island has long been known as the Island of Horses. Horses once sheltered through the winter are now released into vast pastures, marking the change of season. More than a hundred Jeju horses, protected as Natural Monuments, raced across open fields. We take you there, right now

[REPORT]
A vast green pasture halfway up Hallasan Mountain.

With a start signal, some one hundred Jeju horses start racing across the plain.

Horse racing, considered one of Jeju's ten most spectacular sights, is taking place.

Park Yu-jin / Changwon resident
I have hardly seen a horse. I came here because of the festival and it was amazing to see the horses running about.

This is the 347 Festival, held to help restore Jeju horse ranching culture. Here, the horses which have been protected inside a stable through the winter are moved to the grazing pasture in the spring.

Jeju horses nearly went extinct at one time due to rapid changes including industrialization.

Jeju horses were designated as natural monument number 347 in 1986, and now some 170 horses are being protected systematically.

Families that came to visit will bring back unforgettable memories of this special experience of seeing and touching these rarely seen horses up close.

Kim Hye-su / Jeju resident
My children had fun looking at and personally feeding the horses. They also enjoyed various other activities.

The horse race was held inside the national heritage protection area where access is normally restricted. The event was open to public for only two days.

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