As Homigot is located in the easternmost area of the Korean peninsula, the sun is found to rise earliest in the country. The sunrise time in Homigot is 7:32 a.m. according to the Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute. The festival, which started in 1999 as a national millennium event, has continued gathering millions of visitors who want to make wishes and resolutions for the new year in front of the first sunrise of the year.
Visitors also can sample a bowl of free tteokguk, rice cake soup, under the event theme of “Serving Tteokguk for 10,000.” Koreans consider Tteokguk a traditional New Year ’s Day dish, believing it will bring luck for the year.