[The sausage festival; Photo Credit to Boyoung Ryu]

On May 13th and 14th in Jeju, South Korea, Peace Village hosted a Sausage Festival that involved various activities and celebrations. 

In order to enter and enjoy the festival, an admission fee of 20,000won was required.

The social enterprise Peace Village was responsible for organizing this festival, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for disabled individuals while emphasising their outstanding skills and pursuing the value of living together.

The main event in the festival was distributing sausages made by disabled people for free, using only the finest ingredients sourced from Jeju's clean, black pigs and locally grown vegetables cultivated without abscesses. 

This focus on quality and sustainability not only offered delight in favour but also exhibited the dedication of disabled workers who take pride in their cooking.

Under the guidance of Peace Village, the Sausage Festival promotes a society where individuals with disabilities can live harmoniously. 

To facilitate the festival, participants of AAJ and SJA, a collaborative volunteer group from Jeju International Schools, extended their support by participating in various volunteer activities throughout the festival.

Visitors were given the opportunity to engage in a range of experiences while contributing to a worthy cause. 

There were various activities that one could partake in such as cupcake making, cotton candy and snack sales, and the selling of cute goods.

All monetary earnings from these activities were donated to organizations dedicated to supporting disabled individuals. 

Moreover, throughout the month of April, the volunteers collected books that they were going to throw away.

Then, they gave away collected books for a free library where visitors could enjoy the gift of reading.

A teenager who participated in collecting books and giving them for free was satisfied with the festival.

She said, “It was a nice experience that I did not have to throw away the books, and instead, I could give them to the people who want to read them.”

Her mom also agreed with her and is willing to participate more in volunteering activities so that she will be able to gain more experience and take an active interest in it.

The family of the teenager also enjoyed the other parts of the festival such as getting free sausages and making cupcakes.

The teenager added that the sausages were especially delicious.

The Sausage Festival was held in Daejeon-eup, Jeju, attracting a lot of attendees as well as providing a deeper understanding of the lives and abilities of people with disabilities.

Most of the attendees enjoyed the festival, especially because they were satisfied with the taste of the sausages made by disabled people. 

Furthermore, participants from AAJ and SJA thought that volunteering at this festival was a nice experience and showed their interest in volunteering at other things too.

The success of the Sausage Festival not only provided a space for disabled workers to showcase their talents but also allowed others to think once more about an inclusive and accepting society for disabled people.

The Peace Village is looking forward to holding a similar festival like this to increase awareness of social problems.