TL;DR at the bottom if you're lazy.

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There's an event called 'Hwangnam-dong Carnival.' It was a solid event run by private agencies and indie musicians for several years.

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In 2024, they teamed up with Gyeongju City and rebranded as 'Golden Carnival' to scale up, and it was a massive hit. After that, Gyeongju City wanted to keep it going for 2025, but the original agency pulled out because working with the city was a total shitshow. But the city didn't want to let go of a proven money-maker. They kept the name 'Golden Carnival,' copied the content from the original 'Hwangnam-dong' days, and tried to hire a different agency to host the 2025 version.

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The original agency fought back.

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A legal battle ensued.

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The original agency won.

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Summary: 1. City injects budget into a private event to scale up. 2. Event blows up, but the agency leaves because Gyeongju’s management is trash. Gyeongju tries to hijack the IP. 3. Gyeongju loses. Gyeongju is pathetic.